US court approves SEC-Binance.US settlement

United States Judge Amy Berman Jackson on June 17 approved a settlement between Binance.US, Binance and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to quash a previous temporary restraining order (TRO) that all Binance.US will freeze assets.

Judge Jackson said on June 14 that she would prefer the parties to reach an agreement on their own, rather than rule. The parties reportedly reached an agreement on 16 June.

Binance.US said on Twitter, “We are pleased to inform you that the Court has not granted the SEC’s request for a TRO and to freeze assets on our platform, which is clearly contrary to both the facts and the law.” was inappropriate.”

Per the approved settlement, only Binance.US employees will have access to client funds until the litigation is resolved. US-based customers will retain the ability to withdraw funds during this period.

We’d like to provide an update on the current battle Finds himself with the Sec. We are pleased to inform you that the Court did not grant the SEC’s request for a TRO and asset freeze on our platform which was clearly unjustified by both the facts and …

– Binance.US (@BinanceUS) June 17, 2023

The deal between the crypto exchange and the US regulator also prevents root access by Binance global authorities to wallets, private keys of hardware wallets or Amazon Web Services tools of Binance.US.

“No evidence has ever been presented by the SEC regarding misappropriation of client assets. In fact, SEC attorneys admitted in court earlier this week, when asked by the judge, that they had no such evidence. Which suggests that such a thing happened,” Binance.US wrote about the allegations of mismanagement of funds.

In a Twitter comment on the matter, John Reed Stark, former head of the SEC’s Office of Internet Enforcement noted that the agreement contains a “particularly interesting provision” regarding the repatriation of certain assets to the US

“Defendants will repatriate to the United States, transfer to BAM Trading, and confirm that BAM Trading will retain possession, custody, and control of all fiat currency and crypto assets deposited, held, traded, or acquired by customers in the United States of America.” ..),” the agreement reads.

Additionally, the deal emphasizes that Binance.US must take immediate action to ensure “verified written accounting” of accounts belonging to BAM entities valued at more than $1,000.

The SEC filed an emergency motion for a temporary restraining order on Binance.US on June 6, after Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao was accused in a lawsuit of having access to Binance.US customer funds. The regulator alleged that Zhao transferred $12 billion of funds to Binance through an entity called Merit Peak.

Ahead of the hearing on the restraining order, Binance.US and Zhao submitted a joint memorandum denying that the funds were ever misappropriated. According to him, the SEC has been unable to identify a single instance where Binance.US customer funds have been misused.

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