As a researcher with a background in finance and securities law, I find Judge Amy Berman Jackson’s ruling in the SEC vs. Binance and Changpeng Zhao case intriguing. While she dismissed some charges related to secondary BNB sales and Simple Earn, she allowed the SEC to proceed with allegations of unregistered broker, trading, and clearing services for digital asset securities.


As a crypto investor, I’d put it this way: A federal judge has partly dismissed the SEC’s case against Binance and its founder Changpeng Zhao. However, some charges, such as those levied against the holding company for Binance.US, have been allowed to move forward.

Last Friday, Judge Amy Berman Jackson from the District Court for the District of Columbia made a decision in our case. She allowed the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to move forward with their charges against Binance regarding the initial coin offering and continuous sales of BNB, BNB Vault, and staking services. Additionally, she dismissed the fraud charges connected to secondary BNB sales and Simple Earn.

Last summer, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed lawsuits against Binance, Binance.US, and Zhao, accusing them of providing unregistered brokerage, trading, and clearing services in the US for securitized digital assets that have not been registered with the SEC. The regulatory body has brought comparable charges against Coinbase, Kraken, and more recently, Consensys and MetaMask.

In her order issued on Friday, Judge Jackson acknowledged that the SEC’s claims held merit under the majority of the accusations they made.

In her ruling, the judge acknowledged that various district courts handling SEC cases regarding cryptocurrencies have carefully distinguished between investment contracts and the tokens themselves. This distinction aligns with the Supreme Court’s initial interpretations of an “investment contract,” which is encompassed within the broader definition of a “security.”

I’m currently facing a 4-month imprisonment due to a sanctions violation allegation from the Department of Justice and the Treasury Department. Importantly, this legal issue distinguishes itself from the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) ongoing case against me.

The judge referred to Judge Analisa Torres’ 2023 decision in the SEC versus Ripple Labs case when granting Binance’s request to dismiss the allegations regarding secondary BNB token sales. According to the judge, the economic characteristics of these transactions hold significant weight in determining whether securities laws apply.

In line with other judges, Judge Jackson refused to accept the contention that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is incapable of instituting enforcement actions against crypto-related entities under the “major questions doctrine.” This legal principle, established by the Supreme Court, requires clear congressional instruction when federal agencies exercise authority over substantial industries.

The judge expressed that the industry in question doesn’t meet the extensive influence necessary for the court to apply the relevant doctrine to it, based on the information currently presented (Friday).

The judge scheduled a hearing for July 9.

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2024-06-29 06:01