You really think restricting the US/VPNs will protect you from the SEC?

JD candidate interested in patent law, urbanism, nature, and biotech

Everything is about shifting probability distributions, so yes?

Software Engineer @ Cadence Design Systems. B4: Stanford EE / Illinois ECE

I doubt it makes the slightest difference, on the other hand they burn 100% of their goodwill with American users.

Not really, already been through this 100 times before, see Omnilayer, Starkware, AltLayer, etc.

which part, avoiding sec action or retaining users?

Avoiding SEC action while airdropping a token. I can't say it's an airtight legal defense strategy, of course, many are saying "they'll sue you anyway," and I'm sympathetic to that view, but that's not how the Mens Rea cookie crumbles.

Theyre still conducting significant business in the US by allowing ppl to deposit and they can buy the token once it drops anyways. There’s also a decent argument that airdrops aren’t security transactions. I’d be fine with it if they hadn't let ppl deposit, dangle points in their face, then yank them away.