Binance wants the court to know the US government’s position on USDC

Cryptocurrency exchange Binance and its former CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao have filed a notice with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to confirm the government's position as a security.

On April 25, in a lawsuit filed in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, lawyers for Binance and CZ filed a notice of additional authority, drawing the court's attention to the US government's criminal charges against Mango market exploiter Avraham Eisenberg. In that case, prosecutors argued there was “no factual basis” to consider USD Coin (USDC) as a security or to bring the claim to court.

The Justice Department used the dispute against the USDC as collateral against Eisenberg, who pleaded guilty to fraud and market manipulation on April 18. The government's assertion that the stablecoin, which appears to be under SEC oversight, is not safe could bolster Binance. Arguments in civil cases.

While the scope of the dispute appears to be limited to USDC, the SEC case against Binance includes BNB BNB and stablecoin Binance USD (BUSD). The lawsuit, filed in June 2023, alleges that the crypto exchange and CZ allowed unregistered offers and sales of BNB and BUSD, as well as Binance's Simple Earn, BNB Vault, and staking programs.

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Binance's case with the SEC was ongoing at the time of publication, but the exchange and CZ have settled with the US Department of Justice, Treasury and Commodity Futures Trading Commission for $4.3 billion in November 2023. Zhao stepped down as CEO of the crypto exchange and pleaded guilty to one felony count as part of the deal. He is scheduled to be sentenced on April 30.

Crypto exchanges remain under the control of regulators and authorities around the world. Two Binance executives have been arrested in Nigeria after the company said it intended to stop all transactions in the local fiat currency, the naira. Authorities in Canada have also filed a class-action lawsuit against Binance, alleging the exchange sold unregistered crypto derivatives.

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