On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson granted the joint motion to stay the SEC’s lawsuit against Binance for 60 days.
Both Binance and the SEC had submitted a joint filing to the court late on Monday requesting a hold on the lawsuit, citing possible changes under the new commission’s task force could affect the outcome of the case.
Binance hopes they can do away with the case eventually, saying the case was baseless
In their court filing, the parties argued that the SEC’s task force formed last month to review and formulate crypto regulations may “impact and facilitate the potential resolution of this case.”
A spokesperson for Binance even commented on the stay filing, saying:
“The SEC’s case has always been without merit, and we are eager to put this behind us and to continue our focus on keeping Binance the most secure, licensed, and trusted exchange in the world.”
However, former SEC official Corey Frayer opposed the stay filing, saying that holding out on a case in which the CEO already pled guilty to his criminal charges and the commission already had an employee who admitted to the infringement of the securities laws may lead to a “full dereliction of duty.”
In June 2023, the SEC filed 13 charges against Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao and the exchange, accusing them of running unregistered exchanges, manipulating markets, failing to restrict US investors from the exchange’s services, and misleading investors on its market surveillance controls. In November 2023, Binance’s Zhao pled guilty to his money laundering charges and served time in jail for it.
While some are still displeased with the SEC, Washington DC federal judge Amy Berman approved the stay request, temporarily stopping the case for the next 60 days.
The crypto industry is optimistic about the SEC’s republican leadership
Meanwhile, the SEC’s involvement in the stay request has turned some heads in the crypto industry. Some saw it as the SEC’s change to a more crypto-friendly stance under the task force’s new commissioner, Hester Peirce.
The joint filing also showed that the commission is reviewing existing cases against crypto firms, particularly those in which the previous administration had claimed that crypto tokens should be treated similarly to securities. On Tuesday, at an event of the Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies, Peirce claimed that they’ve been doing it wrong by having the enforcement division come up with crypto policies.
President Trump has nominated lawyer and pro-crypto supporter Paul Atkins for the SEC chair position. Atkins has yet to be confirmed by Congress, but the SEC has already begun changing its approach to crypto under its existing Republican leadership.
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Source: https://www.cryptopolitan.com/judge-puts-secs-binance-lawsuit-on-hold/