As a researcher with a background in blockchain technology and regulatory compliance, I find the recent development between Paxos and the SEC regarding their investigation into the BUSD stablecoin to be a significant turning point for the crypto industry.


Paxos, the company responsible for the Binance USD (BUSD) stablecoin through its blockchain infrastructure platform, reported on Thursday that regulatory investigations into their dollar-backed tokens have been concluded.

As a crypto investor, I’m thrilled to share that this outcome signifies a significant legal triumph for the crypto community, particularly in regards to the long-standing ambiguity surrounding the classification and regulatory framework for stablecoins. The fog that once shrouded this issue has been lifted to some extent.

Paxos Prevails Over The SEC

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) initiated an investigation into BUSD in February 2023. On July 9, they officially informed Paxos that they would be discontinuing their enforcement actions against the company.

In a recent press statement, Paxos asserted that its USD-backed stablecoins do not fall under the category of securities according to federal securities laws. The company viewed the Wells Notice as unnecessary and unjustified. This turn of events, we believe, will trigger a surge in adoption of stablecoins among prominent international businesses.

Token representations, known as stablecoins, are anchored on blockchain technology and maintain equivalent value to assets with minimal price volatility. The preferred assets for this purpose are typically fiat currencies, such as the US dollar, which was the basis for BUSD.

When the SEC initiated its probe towards the end of the previous year, Paxos was instructed by the regulatory body to halt the emission of new tokens and facilitate a well-ordered redemption procedure for existing token holders as part of an orderly shutdown of their operations.

At that point, BUSD ranked third among stablecoins with Tether (USDT) and Circle USD (USDC) being the top two. Binance’s initiatives were effectively increasing BUSD’s popularity and market presence.

As a crypto investor, I’ve observed that Binance had to delist an asset earlier in 2023. Concurrently, Tether’s stablecoin has seen a significant surge in market dominance, reaching a staggering 69.19% as of DefiLlama’s latest data in early 2023.

Implications For The Crypto Industry

The SEC’s probe into Paxos and BUSD carries significant ramifications for the crypto sphere at large. If BUSD is deemed an unregistered security in a potential lawsuit, it could potentially impact USDT and USDC similarly, as their functioning is comparable. This could lead to regulatory scrutiny for Tether and Circle as well.

The head of the Commodities and Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), Rostin Benham, has previously stated that the CFTC’s assessment identifies Tether (USDT) as a commodity instead of a security.

“Our enforcement team and the commission came to the agreement that Tether’s stablecoin should be classified as a commodity. Consequently, it became necessary for us to take prompt action in regulating this market.”

As a researcher investigating the legal landscape of cryptocurrency exchanges, I cannot overlook the significance of the ongoing disputes between the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and prominent crypto platforms, such as Binance. In the case of Binance, accusations have been levied that they facilitated the issuance and trading of unregistered securities on their platform – an allegation that includes BUSD among these securities.

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2024-07-11 21:30