The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) officially reached an agreement with the Binance US platform that avoids freezing.
After Judge Amy Berman Jackson referred the SEC’s dispute with Binance US to a trial judge, matters improved. This weekend, it was learned that the agreement between the parties reached judicial approval, which prevents the total freezing of the exchange’s assets.
On June 5, the commission sued Binance and its CEO, Changpeng Zhao, with 13 counts in federal courts. The next day, after doing the same with Coinbase, the agency again charged Zhao’s exchange, this time specifically against his dependency on the United States.
The hatred of the regulators seemed to be taking too extreme a path that was endangering thousands of users of the exchange, or at least that was what Judge Jackson noticed when she denied the request for a freeze until an agreement was reached.
The SEC Reluctantly Agrees to Settle with Binance US
The above described led the SEC to reluctantly accept a settlement with Binance US that prevented the total destruction of the platform, as an asset freeze is the equivalent of completely dismantling a company.
The news is undoubtedly positive for the virtual currency trading company. From uncertainty about their immediate future, they move to a guaranteed situation to manage their funds. As for the regulators, if their goal was to attack cryptocurrency trading, then they are counting on failure.
To the head of the SEC, companies “do not need more digital currencies.” He asserts that this role is already fulfilled by the dollar, the euro, and fiat money in general, which is almost completely digitized.
Consequently, if the SEC wants to destroy the crypto market, and Binance US is their main target, then they will have to wait. Everything indicates that the agency’s contempt for cryptocurrencies is not generalized to the whole North American country.
What Next?
For Binance US, the agreement reached with the SEC presents an opportunity to keep its business moving forward. However, the company’s problems appear to be a long way from over. The lawsuit is upheld and there will be a trial in which Binance must prove that the numerous accusations against it are false.
If the courts decide that that company’s token, XRP, is not a security, then the way could be clear for Binance US, Coinbase, Gemini, Kraken, and others. In any case, the recent agreement of the SEC with Binance US can be considered the first step in this regard.
Agreement Limitations
One aspect that should not be ignored is that the deal is a pyrrhic victory for Binance US, as the SEC’s goal was partially achieved. In other words, just because not all of the assets are locked up for the company, it doesn’t mean that it escaped unscathed.
The whole thing seems to turn into a whirlpool created by the SEC in which Binance US is not the only party involved. The disclosure of the Hinman documents cannot be underestimated.
Basically, a former SEC executive, William Hinman, would have had some talks with Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin. These could be cumbersome for regulators, although they can also be considered open to interpretation.
By Audy Castaneda
