- Magistrate Judge Faruqui signs minute order amid Binance and its subsidiary’s joint motion with the US SEC.
- Upcoming hearing set for September 18, where arguments from both Binance.US and the SEC will be heard.
In-depth Look at the Binance & US SEC Legal Face-off
In the escalating legal tussle between the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and crypto giants Binance and Binance.US, Magistrate Judge Zia M. Faruqui recently penned a significant minute order. This development comes hot on the heels of a joint motion filed by Binance, its U.S. offshoot, Binance.US, and the SEC, where Binance seeks a protective order against the SEC’s push to enforce a discovery request.
Chronology of the Judicial Tangle
Dated September 13, the court documents reveal that Judge Faruqui has set the stage for the next round of hearings to take place on Monday, September 18. On the agenda for this hearing are the arguments pitched by BAM Management US Holdings and BAM Trading Services (essentially Binance.US) favoring the protective order. The SEC, not to be overshadowed, will counterargue, opposing the protective order and presenting its motion to maintain document confidentiality.
Stepping into this intricate legal labyrinth, Judge Amy Berman Jackson instructed Magistrate Judge Faruqui to play the mediator, tasked with untangling the threads of dispute between BinanceUS and the SEC, specifically surrounding the elements laid out in the protective order. Delving deeper, BinanceUS’s stance is clear: they argue that the SEC is overshooting the boundaries of the initially agreed-upon consent order. They fervently request the court to stave off depositions targeting their top-tier executives, namely the CEO and CFO, and firmly disapprove of SEC’s demands that seemingly don’t align with the core case.
It’s worth noting that just this past Monday, Binance Holdings and Binance.US, in conjunction with the SEC, moved forth with a joint motion. Their goal? To ensure a protective order pertaining to the sensitive details intertwined within this lawsuit. Concurrently, Binance.US voiced its dissent against the SEC’s motion to compel and sought additional judicial relief.
Binance.US: Wading Through Challenging Waters?
The internal dynamics at Binance.US seem to be under the microscope. Brian Shroder, the erstwhile CEO of Binance’s U.S. segment, has made an exit, coinciding with the platform’s move to cut down almost a third of its staff. Amidst this backdrop and the departure of several high-ranking officials, speculations about the platform’s stability have arisen. In response, the global CEO of Binance, known popularly as CZ, debunked these circulating rumors, emphasizing a routine review process of their team composition.
