- The SEC has decided to amend its complaint against Binance, withdrawing allegations that several tokens, including Solana (SOL), Polygon (MATIC), and Cardano (ADA), are securities.
- The crypto industry has reacted to this development with mixed feelings. Tyler Winklevoss called it a positive step that could free certain tokens from SEC regulations, while Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse, viewed it as evidence of the SEC’s inconsistent actions.
In an interesting development, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has decided to amend its complaint against crypto exchange Binance associated with third-party- crypto asset securities.
As per the joint filing submitted by Binance and the US SEC to the District Court of Columbia on Tuesday, July 30, the SEC informed the court regarding the amendment. Last year in June 2023, the SEC sued Binance over allegations of securities laws violations and fraud violations.
During the lawsuit filing last year, the SEC had named 10 tokens – including the likes of Solana (SOL), Polygon, and others – identifying them as securities. However, in the recent amendment, the SEC withdrew its complaints against all these third-party crypto securities.
Thus, the court will now weigh whether tokens like Solana (SOL), Cardano (ADA), and Polygon (MATIC) fall under its regulatory umbrella.
The question of whether cryptocurrencies are securities is central to SEC Chair Gary Gensler’s assertion that the agency should be the primary regulator of the crypto industry. Also, the market watchdog has launched numerous enforcement actions against major crypto companies such as Binance, Coinbase, and Kraken, arguing that they have violated securities laws, per the CNF report.
Crypto Veterans React to Binance SEC Lawsuit Development
There has been a mixed bag of reactions from the crypto industry over the SEC’s filing for amending the Binance lawsuit. Tyler Winklevoss welcomed the development as nearly 10 tokens get free from the clutches of the SEC’s securities laws. He also thanks Donald Trump for his strong push in crypto that forced the SEC to make such an amendment, per the CNF update.
All of a sudden the @SECGov is no longer trying to classify 10 tokens (SOL, ADA, MATIC, FIL, ATOM, SAND, MANA, ALGO, AXS and COTI) as securities. They’re amending their case against @BinanceUS to remove this allegation so the court won’t rule on it. Thank you @realDonaldTrump pic.twitter.com/NBGsX1QF9n
— Tyler Winklevoss (@tyler) July 30, 2024
VanEck’s head of digital assets – Matthew Sigel – said that this development will bode well for the approval of the Solana ETF. He wrote:
SEC Intends to Amend Complaint Against Third Party Tokens (Like SOL) in Binance Case This means that the Judge won’t have to decide whether 10 tokens such as Solana and Matic are unregistered securities or not. May be bullish for Solana ETF prospects.
However, the BlackRock CIO for ETFs Samara Cohen stated that they are not pursuing any other crypto ETFs, stating that there’s not enough demand for the asset, reported CNF.
On the other hand, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse stated that this is a clear hypocrisy on the part of the SEC and said that the regulators are trying to bend the rules as per its wishes.
More evidence of SEC hypocrisy.
Chair Gensler testifies the rules are clear, yet his SEC can’t figure them out and applies them haphazardly, festering more industry confusion.
A political agenda and/or bad faith litigation tactics. Def not a “faithful allegiance to the law”. https://t.co/iX8IdvaW92
— Brad Garlinghouse (@bgarlinghouse) July 30, 2024
