SEC v. Binance hearing delayed until Monday

Today’s court hearing between Binance and the SEC has been postponed, according to a minute order published on Jan. 19.

That order reads:

“It has just been announced that the courthouse will now be closed to in person proceedings due to inclement weather. Accordingly, today’s motions hearing is reset to Monday, January 22, 2024 at 10:00 a.m.”

A separate report from Reuters indicates that Binance is expected to argue for dismissal of the SEC case during the upcoming hearing.

According to one of Reuters’ sources, Binance is unwilling to settle with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) out of court as it did with other U.S. agencies. Binance might need to admit that certain cryptocurrencies named in the case are securities to settle with the SEC, that source said, and doing so could affect the company’s business model.

Binance also believes it has a strong case that SEC is overreaching and that the regulator has not proved fraud, another source stated.

SEC filed charges in June 2023

The SEC originally filed charges against Binance and its former CEO, Chagpeng Zhao, on June 5 2023. At that time, the securities agency alleged that Binance operated unregistered exchanges, broker-dealers, and clearing agencies and engaged in the unregistered offer and sale of securities.

It also alleged that the company was responsible for misrepresenting trading controls and oversight on its American platform, Binance.US.

The SEC filed similar charges against another exchange, Coinbase just one day after charging Binance. In Coinbase’s latest hearing, a judge addressed the possibility of dismissing the case but declined to rule from the bench. She told each side to take this as a “compliment,” implying that each side’s argument has merit.

The SEC also filed similar charges against Kraken in November. That case has not progressed to the extent that the two others have.

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