Binance Slams SEC Bid to Fuel Lawsuit with $4.3B Settlement 

• The Securities and Exchange Commission will not let Binance off its hook.
• The commission seeks to use the exchange and the former CEO’s guilty admission to push its case.
• The defendants have filed a response to the commission.

The Binance $4.3 billion settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice has seen the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ramp up its enforcement actions against the exchange and its founder, Changpeng Zhao. On December 8, the commission contended that the guilt admissions made by both parties should be considered in its year-long case.

However, Binance remains resolute in rejecting the SEC’s approach, maintaining its stance against the commission’s maneuvers.  

Binance Responds to SEC’s Notice

In a filing to the District Court of Columbia on December 12, Binance and CZ  declared the SEC’s latest attempts to strengthen its year-long legal battle as “procedurally improper and impermissible.”

The defendants argued that the plea agreements with the Department of Justice, which show that Binance and Mr. Zhao violated the Bank Secrecy Act, do not automatically validate the SEC’s position on classifying the crypto assets or alleged violations under the Securities Act or the Exchange Act.

“The SEC’s effort to benefit from other agencies’ resolutions under a different statutory regime is another example of its refusal to accept Congress’s decision to assign authority over the kinds of assets at issue here to other agencies.”

Going further, Binance and CZ stated that no admission in the plea agreements supports the SEC’s claims that relevant transactions occurred within the United States.

The defendants emphasized that the SEC has failed to demonstrate the relevance of the resolutions with the Department of Justice and to any of its defective claims, urging the court to disregard the notice.

Read more on the Binance-SEC year-long legal showdown:
SEC Dismisses Binance Motion to Toss Lawsuit as “Theatrics”

The U.S. is tightening regulatory measures on crypto entities within the region. Read more:
Senator Warren Labels Crypto a Threat to the United States