Court Ruling Moves Case Forward

Judge Amy Berman Jackson of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia last Friday ruled that most of a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against Binance can proceed.

This decision comes despite Binance's efforts to stop the case, raising important questions about the exchange's future. And despite it all, Binance's U.S. division says it is ready to rumble.

Binance.US Responds

In response to the ruling, Binance.US emphasized its readiness for the court's decision. The company stressed its cooperation throughout the 11-month discovery process, during which the SEC has not identified any evidence of wrongdoing.

In a statement posted to social media platform X, Binance.US expressed confidence in its legal position while pushing back against accusations of securities violations.

"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," Binance.US said. The company even stated that it has always tried to follow the limited rules provided by the SEC.

SEC's Allegations

The SEC's lawsuit, filed in June 2023, accuses Binance and its founder Changpeng "CZ" Zhao of serious offenses, including inflating trading volumes, diverting customer funds, and misleading investors about its market controls.

Additionally, the SEC claims that Binance allowed the trading of unregistered securities, adding to its legal problems. Despite these allegations, Binance's U.S. arm maintains it was established to serve customers in full compliance with U.S. laws and regulations.

Compliance and Criticism

Binance.US said Monday it maintains a 1:1 reserve for all customer assets and operates robust compliance and risk programs to ensure the safety and security of its platform.

The company also criticized the SEC's approach, describing it as "regulation by enforcement" and accusing the Commission of politically motivated overreach under its current leadership by Chairman Gary Gensler.

"It is unfortunate that we, like many companies in our industry, have fallen victim to the SEC's regulation by enforcement approach and politically motivated overreach under its current leadership," the company said.

Partial Victory for Binance

However, the ruling is not all bad for Binance or the wider cryptocurrency community. Judge Jackson agreed with a previous judge, stating that the SEC had not shown that secondary sales of Binance's tokens by third parties on exchanges were securities.

This part of the ruling is seen as a partial win for Binance and the crypto community. Despite the legal woes, the company said it would continue to operate smoothly and introduce new features and updates.

This decision comes despite Binance's efforts to dismiss the case, raising critical questions about the future of the exchange and its operations. The SEC did not immediately return a request for comment.