Judge Berman rebuffed the court request from the SEC to freeze Binance.US assets.
United States Federal Judge Amy Berman has declined to order a temporary restraining order (TRO) freezing the assets of Binance.US, the US arm of cryptocurrency exchange Binance.
Recall that a day after the SEC sued Binance and Binance.US for violating federal securities laws, the commission requested an emergency TRO to freeze Binance.US assets.
SEC Rejects Binance Proposal
Following SEC’s request to freeze Binance.US assets, the crypto trading firm proposed different compromises to enable it to continue doing business.
Some of the proposals include securing the assets of the exchange’s customers, giving the private keys to US personnel, and providing regular accounting for the assets. As expected, the SEC rejected Binance.US’ proposal.
However, the court has now declined the Commission’s order to freeze the exchange’s assets. This ruling came up yesterday in US District Court for the District of Columbia. The ruling will enable Binance.US to continue operating as usual while trying to ease off some of the restrictions requested by the SEC.
Parties to Provide Status Update on Thursday
Judge Berman noted that if the parties can agree on restrictions, there will not be any need for a temporary restraining order to freeze the exchange’s assets.
In the meantime, Judge Berman ordered the SEC and Binance.US to continue with the negotiations to agree on a compromise. The judge also ordered the parties to brief her about the status of the negotiations by Thursday.
It is worth noting that the development was shared by a crypto-friendly legal analyst who uses the pseudonym MetaLawMan. According to MetaLawMan, the judge asked the SEC if it had evidence of Binance.US moving its assets overseas. Interestingly, the SEC had zero evidence to back its TRO request.
BREAKING: SEC v. @binance hearing
Judge does Not enter SEC's requested asset freeze order.
Judge encourages parties to try to come to an agreed compromise order and report back on Thursday.
The judge, apparently, caught on that there was no actual emergency.
I am told the… https://t.co/p9bkhIF0GZ
— MetaLawMan (@MetaLawMan) June 13, 2023
Meanwhile, cryptocurrency community members have expressed excitement over denying the SEC’s TRO request. Prominent crypto YouTuber Scott Melker reacted to the news in a tweet yesterday. In addition, Chris, a renowned Cardano enthusiast, described the development as good news for crypto.
Judge Reportedly Slams SEC’s Enforcement Actions
It is interesting to note that Judge Berman slammed the SEC’s continuous use of enforcement actions to regulate the cryptocurrency industry. According to a New York Times report, the judge described the SEC’s preference for regulation by enforcement as “inefficient and cumbersome.”
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