Binance US is preparing for a legal battle against the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) after the District Court for the District of Columbia determined the SEC’s lawsuit would continue. The exchange remains confident in its case after Judge Amy Berman Jackson dismissed several “key claims” in the lawsuit.
Binance Prepares For Legal Battle
The American branch of crypto exchange Binance is getting ready to face the SEC as the regulatory battle continues. In an X post, the exchange informed users that the Court decided the SEC’s case would proceed.
As stated in the post, Binance US was established to serve US customers and specifically comply with the country’s regulations and licensing. It maintains “1:1 reserves for all customer assets” and has robust compliance and risk programs to “ensure the safety, security, and integrity” of the platform.
The exchange criticized the SEC’s “regulation by enforcement approach” and “politically motivated” overreaching decisions, a common criticism political and industry figures have voiced. Binance US highlighted the “limited guidance” the SEC has offered the industry to operate and comply with regulations.
Additionally, the crypto trading platform claimed that the US regulator has yet to identify “any evidence of wrongdoing” from the American branch throughout the extensive, 11-month discovery process Binance has participated in.
Nonetheless, the exchange assured it is prepared for the legal showdown and looks forward to advancing in the judicial process. It stated it had confidence in its stance and believes the Court will validate it in due course:
We remain confident in our position that the SEC’s case is unsupported by the facts or the law, and that the Commission lacks the very authority it is seeking to wield in bringing its action against us. We believe this position will be validated by the Court in due course.
Partial Victory For The Crypto Exchange
In June 2023, The SEC filed a lawsuit against the crypto exchange, arguing that Binance US offered the sale of unregistered securities and had operated illegally in the US. The exchange filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, alleging that the US regulator exceeded its legal authority.
On Friday, Judge Amy Berman Jackson ruled against the exchange’s attempt to dismiss most of the SEC’s claims. However, Binance saw a partial victory after Judge Jackson rejected some of the regulator’s main claims.
Per the post, the exchange’s main takeaway is the dismissal of “key claims,” including claims related to the secondary market sales of BNB tokens, the classification of Binance USD (BUSD) stablecoin as an investment contract, and “the assertion that crypto tokens themselves are securities.”
The exchange considers the Court’s ruling a “blow to the SEC’s continued efforts to regulate through enforcement.” Moreover, the decision marks an important moment in the ongoing battle between regulators and the crypto industry.
This decision is more than just a legal win for Binance; it recognizes there are critical limits on the SEC’s regulatory authority over the crypto industry. The court appropriately criticized the SEC’s decision to litigate the billion-dollar industry through a “case by case, coin by coin, court after court” approach, which creates inconsistent results and ambiguity.
Nonetheless, Judge Jackson allowed the lawsuit to proceed with claims related to the exchange’s staking program, BNB’s Initial Coin Offering (ICO) sales, and anti-fraud violations of the Securities Act.
