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SEC vs Binance
The SEC, Binance and its CEO Changpeng Zhao have approved a joint proposal to file confidential information under seal.
On September 11, a joint motion was filed by parties in the SEC’s lawsuit against Binance and Changpeng ‘CZ’ Zhao requesting how certain documents or potential evidence should be handled during court proceedings.
The protective order filed by the SEC, Binance Holdings Limited, BAM Trading Services Inc, BAM Management US Holdings Inc, and Zhao requires all parties to keep the discovery under seal.
This means that confidential or other nonpublic information must be filed as protected material, and the order restricts access to these documents to parties such as the judge, attorneys, plaintiffs, defendants, and non-parties approved by the court.
This protected material will be classified as either “secret or top secret – in the eyes of lawyers only,” according to the joint filing.
This update is the latest filing in the SEC’s lawsuit against Binance and its CEO. In June 2023, the Commission filed 13 charges, including allegations of unregistered securities sales, against the Binance and CZ entities.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) also filed a lawsuit against CZ and Binance.US for allegedly offering illegal commodity trading products to US investors.
CZ and Binance have denied any wrongdoing, opening the way for a lengthy litigation process involving the top US financial regulators and the largest centralized cryptocurrency trading venue by volume.
The conflict between Binance and these regulators comes amid a crackdown on cryptocurrency service providers in America. Several companies, such as cryptocurrency exchange competitor Coinbase, have been sued by the Securities and Exchange Commission for allegedly violating US laws.
Trading platform Kraken also closed its staking products for US residents and agreed to pay a $30 million settlement fine after the Securities and Exchange Commission began investigations into the company.
Despite multiple enforcement actions against cryptocurrencies, regulators such as SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce, also known as the “Mother of Cryptocurrencies,” have expressed their opposition to the Commission’s approach to the emerging digital asset industry.