Binance US, the affiliate of the world’s largest crypto exchange Binance, is negotiating with the SEC to avoid a complete freeze of its assets amid a lawsuit by the regulator. According to a Bloomberg report, the deal would allow the lawsuit to proceed without harming Binance US or its customers’ funds.
The regulator has filed 13 charges against Binance and its founder Changpeng Zhao, accusing them of operating unregistered securities platforms, misleading investors, and misusing customer assets, among other violations.
Judge Agreed with Binance Against Freezing Assets Over SEC filings
Binance.US and the SEC concur that clients must keep access to their cash regardless of the issue between the two organizations, according to US District Judge Amy Berman Jackson. The exchange was accused by the SEC of stealing customer cash and breaking other laws, thus the SEC asked the court to halt all transactions and freeze Binance.US assets.
The regulator, on the other hand, argued in favor of the asset freeze because it worries that Binance will move user cash overseas. Additionally, the attorney requests that Binance send money to the US and provide it to organizations that are unaffiliated with Binance or its CEO Changpeng Zhao.
Additionally, the SEC was amenable to giving Binance.US access to sufficient assets to cover its operational costs. It requested that the exchange provide a summary of all fees and expenses necessary for the business to continue. Judge Jackson granted permission and set a deadline for the submission of Wednesday for Binance US.
The SEC charged Binance with mishandling customer cash via a different business under Zhao’s control last week. The SEC also charged Binance with failing to appropriately limit US consumers to the Binance US platform, among other things. The SEC claims that it purposefully permits “high-value US customers” to transact on the main exchange.
Since then, Binance has replied to the complaint by asserting that the SEC was purposefully being challenging. Binance stated in its statement that it has a history of working with the authorities and responding to any important inquiries. Binance lamented the SEC’s decision to file a lawsuit rather than continue the “good-faith discussions” the two parties were previously conducting.
