Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, will hold its first hearing with the SEC in court tonight (22) Taiwan time. Binance will seek to have the judge dismiss the SEC’s charges, which could have a significant impact on the cryptocurrency market. Investors should exercise caution.
Background:
Despite reaching settlements with the U.S. Department of Justice, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) in November last year, Binance’s litigation with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is still ongoing.
During this period, Binance has repeatedly requested the court to dismiss the lawsuit. On January 22nd at 10 am Eastern Time (11 pm tonight in Taiwan), Binance and the SEC will hold their first hearing in court, where Binance will urge the judge to dismiss the SEC’s charges.
Last June, the SEC filed a lawsuit against Binance Holdings (Binance’s parent company), Changpeng Zhao, and Binance US, accusing them of operating an unregistered exchange, illegally offering and selling securities to U.S. investors, mishandling customer funds, and more.
Although judges usually do not make rulings immediately after a hearing, if the SEC presents any unknown evidence in court to attack Binance, it could have a significant impact on the cryptocurrency market. Investors should exercise caution.
Binance’s net inflow of funds still surpasses its competitors:
After reaching a plea agreement with U.S. regulators in November last year, Binance experienced temporary capital outflows, with over $1 billion withdrawn within 24 hours. However, the panic over capital outflows quickly subsided.
According to data from Defilllama, Binance’s net inflow of funds has reached $4.6 billion in the two months since then, surpassing its competitors, including OKX with $2.6 billion and Bybit with $1.1 billion.
SEC held a hearing with Coinbase last week:
In fact, just last week, another exchange, Coinbase, also held a hearing in the U.S. Southern District Court of New York to seek the dismissal of the SEC lawsuit.
Elliott Stein, a senior litigation analyst at Bloomberg, expressed in a post after a five-hour hearing that he believes Coinbase has a high chance of winning and predicts a 70% chance of the SEC’s charges being completely dismissed.
Although the backgrounds of the two exchanges are different, it may serve as a reference for the potential outcome of Binance’s lawsuit with the SEC.
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SEC continues to pursue CZ: Lawsuit against Binance “continuing to progress,” settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice is not the end.
Obstacles cleared for the bull market! Court approves settlement agreement between Binance, Changpeng Zhao, and CFTC, requiring the payment of a $2.7 billion fine, with potential hidden terms?