Last year was an extremely busy period for crypto currency cases, with SEC staff working extra hours. The year, filled with lawsuits, accusations, and negative statements against crypto, fortunately ended with a settlement between Binance and the Department of Justice. These days, however, the agenda is focused on the reversal of the last collective case dismissal. What does this mean?
Binance Case News
The United States Court of Appeals has overturned the decision to dismiss a class action lawsuit filed by investors against the cryptocurrency exchange Binance. Many crypto currency companies in America have faced class action lawsuits, one of which was filed by Binance investors. The investors claimed they were deceived into buying “crypto currency tokens registered as securities”.
The reversal of the district court’s decision on appeal will bring back into focus allegations related to transparency issues in the exchange’s securities sales. The announcement of the appeals court stated;
“We have decided that each of the reasons for the District Court’s dismissal of the Plaintiffs’ claims that come before us on appeal is erroneous.”
Will Crypto Currencies Fall?
The market is not susceptible to FUD and the trend is upward, so the news on March 8 did not shake the markets. On the contrary, Bitcoin reached its ATH level, and at the time of writing, Asian investors were starting the day with BTC at $69,000.
In April 2020, a lawsuit filed by Chase Williams claimed that the Binance exchange sold “securities without being registered as a securities exchange or broker-dealer”. Chase, along with other investors who believed they were victims, filed a lawsuit. However, investors knew at the time that the SEC had not informed which altcoins were securities and that exchanges were operating in a gray area. So there are people here trying to take advantage of a legal loophole.
The district court had dismissed the investors’ claims based on the relevant statute of limitations. However, the appeals court overturned the decision while Binance’s case with the SEC on issues such as unregistered securities issuance and sales facilitation was ongoing. This further emphasizes the importance of the ongoing struggle between Coinbase and Binance exchanges with the SEC.
Earlier in the week, two SEC members (Uyeda and Peirce) published a warning drawing attention to the chaos caused by their institution’s lack of transparency regarding cryptocurrencies.
