Key takeaways:
- Only Binance US staff will have access to client funds until the case is finished, per the authorized agreement.
- The CEO of Binance also expressed his joy and satisfaction at the victorious conclusion of a protracted dispute with the US SEC.
An agreement between Binance US, Binance, and the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) was accepted by United States district court Judge Amy Berman Jackson on June 17, and a previous Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) that would have frozen all Binance US assets was dismissed.
On June 14, Jackson stated that she would rather the parties agree on their own than impose her will. According to reports, an agreement was struck on June 16. Binance US tweeted:
“We are pleased to inform you that the Court did not grant the SEC’s request for a TRO and freeze of assets on our platform which was clearly unjustified by both the facts and the law,”
According to the authorized agreement, only Binance US workers will have access to client funds until the case is finished. Customers based in the US will continue to be able to withdraw money during this time.
The agreement between the cryptocurrency exchange and the American regulator forbids Binance global officials from having access to hardware wallets, private keys for wallets, or root access to Binance US’s Amazon Web Services tools.
Changpeng Zhao, “CZ,” the CEO of Binance, also expressed his joy and satisfaction at the victorious conclusion of a protracted dispute with the US SEC. The company had been going through a stressful and uncertain time due to the SEC’s prolonged investigation, so the resolution was a good step.
Now that the regulatory uncertainty is starting to subside, CZ can focus on Binance’s future. CZ emphasized in a tweet that the SEC’s request for emergency relief was unneeded and that Binance would be free to move on unfettered thanks to the mutually agreed-upon resolution.
Following allegations made in a lawsuit against Binance CEO CZ that CZ had access to Binance US customer assets, the SEC filed an emergency application for a temporary restraining order against Binance US on June 6. The regulator claimed CZ transferred $12 billion from Binance through Merit Peak, a company he owned and controlled.
CZ and Binance US jointly submitted a memorandum denying that any money had ever been mismanaged ahead of the hearing on the restraining order. They claim that the SEC has not found a single instance of client funds from Binance.US being abused.
