: “US Court Approves SEC-Binance.US Settlement Agreement”

Binance.US and SEC Reach Agreement, Lifting Temporary Restraining Order

On June 17, Judge Amy Berman Jackson of the United States granted approval to a settlement between Binance.US, Binance and the Securities and Exchange Commission, thus lifting the temporary restraining order (TRO) which had imposed a freeze on all Binance.US assets.

Judge Jackson expressed her preference on June 14 that the parties come to an accord without her intervention. It is said that the sides achieved such an agreement two days later on June 16.

Binance.US declared on Twitter that the Court had declined the SEC’s demand for a Temporary Restraining Order and the freezing of assets on their platform, which was evidently unfounded in both facts and law.

According to the accepted contract, only staff of Binance.US will be able to access customer funds until the lawsuit is settled. Customers based in the United States will still be able to take out their funds during this time.

The agreement between the crypto exchange and the American regulator also makes sure that Binance global personnel are not given access to the private keys of wallets, hardware wallets, or root access to Binance.US’s Amazon Web Services tools.

Binance.US stated that the SEC had not provided any proof of the misuse of customer assets, and that SEC lawyers even admitted in a court hearing this week when questioned by the judge that they had no indication of such an occurrence.

In a tweet concerning the case, John Reed Stark, ex-head of the SEC’s Office of Internet Enforcement, remarked that the settlement included a “notable clause” regarding the return of particular funds to the United States.

The agreement states that the defendants must return all fiat currency and crypto assets held, traded, or accrued by customers to the United States, transferring them to BAM Trading and ensuring that BAM Trading keeps them under its possession, custody, and control in the United States.

Furthermore, the agreement requires Binance.US to promptly take steps to provide a certified record of accounts linked to BAM entities worth more than $1,000.

SEC’s Emergency Application for Temporary Restraining Order Against Binance.US

On June 6, the SEC submitted an emergency application for a temporary restraining order against Binance.US, accusing Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao of having access to Binance.US customer funds in a lawsuit. The regulator alleged that Zhao had moved $12 billion of Binance’s funds through an entity he owned called Merit Peak.

Prior to the hearing regarding the restraining order, Binance.US and Zhao both filed a joint memorandum denying any mishandling of funds. They stated that the SEC has been unable to find one case in which Binance.US customer funds have been misused.

Does SEC Chair Gary Gensler have the ultimate authority when it comes to crypto regulation?