SEC’s Lawsuit against Binance Is Officially on Hold

A federal judge yesterday (Thursday) ordered a hold on the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) lawsuit against crypto exchange giant Binance for 60 days. The order followed a joint request by both parties.

Relying on the Crypto Task Force

In their joint motion earlier this week, the two parties highlighted that the newly formed task force to review crypto regulations might “impact and facilitate the potential resolution of this case.”

The regulator formed the crypto task force last month, led by Republican Commissioner Hester Peirce, a staunch supporter of cryptocurrencies. It is also one of the first moves made by the agency under the interim leadership of Mark Uyeda, who replaced Gary Gensler as Acting Chair.

President Donald Trump has already nominated Paul Atkins, a Washington lawyer and former Commissioner at the agency, as Gensler’s permanent replacement. However, his appointment is pending Senate approval. Unlike Gensler, who opened many high-profile cases against crypto companies, Atkins is seen as crypto-friendly.

SEC’s Move against the Crypto Giant

The SEC sued Binance and its founder, Changpeng Zhao, in mid-2023, alleging that the exchange artificially inflated trading volumes, misused customer funds, and misled investors about its monitoring controls.

“The SEC’s case has always been without merit, and we are eager to put this behind us and continue our focus on keeping Binance the most secure, licensed, and trusted exchange in the world,” a Binance spokesperson said earlier.

In separate cases brought by the Department of Justice and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the crypto exchange paid a total of over $7.1 billion in settlements and agreed to exit the US. Zhao also had to step down from his role as Binance's CEO and spent four months in prison.

Meanwhile, under the new leadership, the SEC is reportedly scaling down its crypto enforcement division, which has more than 50 lawyers.