Breaking: Binance to continue US operations

Binance is set to continue operations in the United States after Judge Jackson approved the exchanges deal with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

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Binance to resume US operations

Binance Exchange has received approval from the court to continue operating in the US. The news comes after Judge Amy Berman Jackson of the DC District Court, overseeing the case, gave a consent order in a June 17 filing.

With this deal, Binance, the defendant, has agreed to repatriate all assets held for the benefit of Binance.US trading customers. The exchange had made this suggestion on Tuesday when the plaintiff filed a petition to freeze its assets.

In a June 13 report, Judge Jackson declined the SEC’s request for a temporary restraining order to have Binance.US assets frozen. Instead, she urged them to work out terms for the exchange to continue operating while the case is ongoing. Citing the Judge:

There’s absolutely no need” for a restraining order should the two sides agree on limits restricting Binance.US’ operations in the United States.

At the time, Binance proposed transferring all assets belonging to Binance.US to new wallets under the sole control of executives at the US-based subsidiary.

Limitations of the deal

Nevertheless, the deal does not free the exchange from the ongoing legal tussle. Based on the report, the lawsuit will continue as planned, which means the agreement borders primarily on investor protection.

The deal also comes as the court wants to protect the industry. On June 13, Judge Jackson urged that “Shutting [Binance.US] down completely would create significant consequences not only for the company but for the digital asset markets in general.”

The deal is limited to allowing Binance.US employees to access customer funds on the US-based crypto exchange. For the avoidance of doubt, Binance Global officials are not allowed access to private keys of all wallets, including cold and hot wallets, hardware, and software. Further, they cannot access Binance.US’ internal systems and controls within 13 days.

It is worth mentioning that the June 17 consent for Binance to continue operating in the US nullifies or invalidates the June 13 application by the SEC to freeze the exchange’s US assets.

In case you missed it, the SEC sued Binance and Binance.US on June 5 for allegedly violating federal securities laws. This came after a three-year investigation. Similar charges were filed against Coinbase on June 6.

The development does not influence Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao’s case. On his part,  he is charged with diverting customer funds, hiding that he and the exchange were commingling billions of dollars in investor assets and sending them to a third party owned by CZ himself.

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As reported, Binance and CZ hired some of the most renowned legal representatives in the lawsuit against the SEC. Based on recent developments, it appears they are doing a good job.