In the case between Binance.us and the US Securities and Exchange Commission, the judge has agreed with the joint stipulation filed by both parties.
This was after the exchange had sought for protective order with the SEC filing for a sealed motion for leave to file documents under seal. 

The legal battle between Binance.us and the US Securities and Exchange Commission is still on as the Commission recently filed a sealed motion for leave to file documents under seal. This was in response to an action by Binance.us to seek a protective order under the claim that the SEC had exceeded the agreed-upon consent order. Later, both parties filed a joint stipulation and proposed order. 

It is important to note that filing under seal permits sensitive or confidential information to be filed and kept away from the public record. 

According to the latest report, Magistrate Judge Zia M. Faruqui has signed the joint stipulation agreed upon by both parties. It is worth noting that stipulation refers to a formal agreement between opposing parties prior to a court hearing or trial. In this case, both SEC and Binance have agreed that the defendant submits a reply in a single filing in the best interest of efficiency and judicial economy. In opposition to the motion for a protective order and motion to compel as well as for other relief single memorandum, Judge Faruqui has instructed Binance.us to submit its response on September 11. Originally, Binance.us had until September 5 to submit a reply, but the exhibits and motions submitted by SEC on August 28 demand that attorneys get more time to prepare for a response. 

In June, Binance and its CEO Changpeng Zhao were sued for allegedly inflating the trading volume of Binance. CZ was said to have diverted customers’ funds and assisted US customers in evading restrictions. 

In the same month, it was reported that SEC and Binance.us had reached an agreement to ensure that US customers’ assets remain in the US.

More on the Binance.us and SEC Issue 

Gurbir Grewal, director of the SEC’s enforcement division, commented on the case.

Given that Changpeng Zhao and Binance have control of the platforms’ customers’ assets and have been able to commingle customer assets or divert customer assets as they please … these prohibitions are essential to protecting investor assets.

Under the proposed agreement, the exchange would create a new crypto wallet to which the employees of the exchange would have no access. With that, a Binance spokesperson confirmed that the emergency relief request by the Commission is unwarranted.

Although we maintain that the SEC’s request for emergency relief was entirely unwarranted, we are pleased that the disagreement over this request was resolved on mutually acceptable terms. User funds have been and always will be safe and secure on all Binance-affiliated platforms.

SEC has been actively engaging in legal battles with several crypto firms with the Commission losing to the likes of Ripple and Grayscale. In the case with the asset manager, the court ruled that the Commission review the spot Bitcoin ETF application it submitted.

Grayscale said this about SEC:

Now that the Court of Appeals has spoken, there is no available rationale that would distinguish a Bitcoin futures ETP from a spot Bitcoin ETP under the legal analysis previously adopted by the Commission in rejecting spot Bitcoin ETPs.

 

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Filed under: Bitcoin - @ September 7, 2023 4:13 pm