By: Eva Baxter
The legal confrontation between the United States Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) and Binance.US, a popular crypto exchange, seems to be escalating. The SEC accuses Binance's holding company, BAM, of non-cooperation in an ongoing investigation. The agency highlights that BAM has only produced 220 documents during the discovery process, many of which they deem unintelligible without dates or signatures.
U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui granted the SEC's motion to unseal or remove the redaction from multiple sealed documents, including Binance.US's compliance with SEC discovery efforts. Amid ongoing lawsuits, Binance.US's trading volume is said to have plummeted significantly. And in a new twist, the SEC has suggested that digital asset wallet provider Ceffu is a Binance-related entity.
This is contrary to Binance's previous claims that it is a separate entity. The growing tension between Binance and the SEC stems from compliance disputes surrounding unregistered securities operations and other allegations. This legal battle carries broad implications for the crypto industry, especially in terms of regulatory compliance and company cooperation with investigative bodies.