This week, we shared the details of the hearing between Binance and the SEC, which were not as promising as Coinbase’s situation. In fact, the problem lies in the differences between the cases involving Coinbase and Binance. While the Coinbase case involves only allegations of brokering unregistered securities, Binance is facing much more complex accusations.
Binance and the SEC
Binance and the U.S. SEC are now causing disputes over the production of evidence. The regulatory body had previously expressed its dissatisfaction with Binance’s exchange for failing to produce the requested evidence. However, what we remember from the settlement process between the CFTC, the Justice Department, and Binance at the end of November was that these evidences were produced according to the required standards.
In fact, U.S. officials had mentioned how solution-oriented Binance exchange was in preparing the documents requested from them and had offered their thanks in this regard.
The Debates Continue
The SEC’s court case involved comprehensive evidence requests from Binance, and we saw some discussions, especially regarding the custody and liquidity of assets. The regulatory body claims that Binance US mixed customer assets with its own, similar to FTX. The problem is that they cannot prove it. If we recall the Binance settlement, we will see that the exchange’s “non-mixing of customer assets with its own” was clearly stated.
Lawyers for BAM Trading (subsidiary) claim they have fully complied with the document production requirements set forth in the Consent Order and the expedited recovery request, asking the court to confirm this.
“At this point, BAM believes it has fulfilled its obligations under the Consent Order to a greater extent than reasonable measures and, considering the damage and burden the SEC’s TRO and expedited discovery approach have brought to BAM over the past seven months, BAM requests that the expedited discovery be considered complete for BAM.”
A Consent Order is an order that determines the nature of the matters to be investigated. The second major issue of debate in the case is the questioning of witnesses.
“BAM does not believe that the SEC has the right to take additional testimony from current or former BAM personnel because, among other reasons, the SEC has already taken statements from a dozen witnesses during the expedited discovery.”
Binance‘s settlement with the SEC, although confusing for leaving the SEC out, is promising for the SEC case as U.S. officials have not been able to find concrete evidence in their allegations of mixing customer assets and defrauding customers.
