Binance and CEO Changpeng Zhao ask court to dismiss SEC suit

Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao and his cryptocurrency alternate have filed a joint movement to dismiss america Securities and Alternate Fee (SEC) lawsuit towards them. 

According to a Sept. 21 submitting in america District Court for the District of Columbia, each Binance Holdings and Zhao claimed that the SEC had overstepped its authority within the lawsuit towards them. 

Within the 60-page petition, legal professionals for Binance and Zhao accused the SEC of failing to introduce clear pointers for the sector forward of its lawsuit towards the crypto alternate and, consequently, had imposed its regulatory authority over the crypto sector retroactively.

“The SEC pursues these novel theories retroactively, in search of to impose legal responsibility for gross sales of crypto belongings that occurred way back to July 2017, earlier than the SEC offered any public steerage regarding cryptocurrency.“

“It’s clear that the SEC’s lawsuit has no basis within the at the moment enacted securities legal guidelines.“

Attorneys for Binance additionally asserted that the regulator essentially misinterprets securities legal guidelines and their software to crypto belongings. 

“In trying to declare regulatory energy over the crypto business, the SEC distorts the textual content of the securities legal guidelines,” learn the submitting.

As well as to Binance and Zhao’s petition, the American outfit of the crypto alternate, Binance.US — legally referred to as BAM Buying and selling Companies — additionally reportedly sought the dismissal of fees in a separate 56-page submitting made on the identical day.

Associated: SEC sees temporary setback in request to access Binance.US software

The SEC sued Binance and its affiliates on June 5, urgent fees claiming Binance affords the sale of unregistered securities and operates illegally in america.

The SEC’s transfer towards Binance got here three months after the Commodity Futures Buying and selling Fee (CFTC) also sued Binance for failing to register with it and for breaking a lot of its pointers. 

Buying and selling exercise on Binance.US has been hit laborious by the continued regulatory motion towards the alternate, with daily trading volumes slumping greater than 98% from Sept. 2022. On Sept. 13, Binance.US laid off 30% of its remaining workforce, with its president and CEO Brian Shroder additionally departing the agency. 

Journal: How to protect your crypto in a volatile market — Bitcoin OGs and experts weigh in