Binance, Binance.US, and Changpeng “CZ” Zhao recently published their first responses to the SEC’s lawsuit against them, alleging serious legal consequences if the regulator’s push for a temporary restraining order proceeds. The exchanges argue that such an order would prevent them from paying employees, vendors, or anyone else, which could effectively end their businesses.
The SEC’s initial allegations against Binance and Binance.US will face their first test in court today. The imposed restraining order has been labeled as “draconian” by Binance.US in their response to the SEC’s motion. This seems to suggest that the judge might prioritize restricting access to Binance.US’s funds rather than signing off on a full temporary restraining order. However, the court’s stance remains to be seen.
District Judge Amy Berman Jackson of the D.C. District Court has ordered Binance and Binance.US to describe any differences in their proposed stipulations, and she has also ordered the SEC to state what changes they would accept from Binance.US’s proposal in lieu of the proposed restraining order. As of now, there appear to be no significant differences between the proposed stipulations by Binance.US and Binance, except for the specific access to Amazon Web Services instances.
Additionally, Ripple, another company facing an SEC lawsuit, has published emails showing the deliberation between officials regarding the text of former SEC Director of Corporation Finance William Hinman’s famous 2018 speech in which he said Ether was not a security. The release of these emails has offered a rare look into the SEC’s deliberative process and the considerations for the Howey analysis. An interesting takeaway from the discussion is that the early version of the speech did not address Ether at all.
A few upcoming events related to the proceedings include: the federal court hearing arguments in the SEC’s effort to secure a temporary restraining order against Binance.US; the House Financial Services Committee holding a hearing on stablecoins; the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank announcing their latest interest rate decisions; and ongoing cases such as U.S. vs. Sam Bankman-Fried and hearings in Genesis’s and Bittrex’s bankruptcy cases.
While the outcome of the SEC’s lawsuit against Binance, Binance.US, and Ripple remains uncertain, the decisions made will certainly have a significant impact on the future of cryptocurrency regulations and the industry as a whole. Crypto enthusiasts eagerly await the resolution of these legal battles and the implications they may have on government oversight and the evolving landscape of cryptocurrency.
Source: Coindesk
