Binance Now Counters SEC’s Sweep With Protective Legal Maneuver

Key Points:

• Binance fights the SEC’s extensive probe, claiming limits on investigative power.
• It questions CEO and CFO depositions and rejects broad data requests as burdensome.
• The exchange faces legal action over alleged U.S. customer targeting and deceptive practices, intensifying cryptocurrency industry scrutiny.

Crypto exchange Binance has filed for a protective order against the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to counter deposition notices and discovery requests.

The motion, submitted on August 14, asserts that while Binance (referred to as BAM) has cooperated in good faith, the SEC has been unyielding in its attempt to broadly investigate asset custody practices without apparent limitations.

In its court filing, Binance emphasized that the Consent Order doesn’t provide the SEC with unlimited power to probe all aspects of its asset custody practices. The exchange’s stance was reiterated, stating that the SEC’s interpretation of the Consent Order is overly expansive.

Binance contended that the CEO and CFO should not be subjected to depositions as they lack pertinent firsthand knowledge germane to the case.

The SEC’s demand for communications dating back to November 2022 on multiple topics unrelated to customer assets raised concerns for Binance. The exchange further took issue with the SEC’s desire to interview six employees, including CEO Changpeng Zhao, labeling the requests as overly burdensome and overreaching.

The exchange and its CEO have already faced legal action earlier this year. In March, the Commodities and Futures Trading Commission sued them for allegedly unlawfully targeting U.S. customers through the international branch.

Subsequently, in June, the SEC also filed a lawsuit, accusing Binance entities of a convoluted web of deception, conflicts of interest, a lack of transparency, and deliberate evasion of regulations.

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