Circuit Judge Admitted as Amicus Curiae in SEC vs. Binance Case: Report

U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson of the District Court for the District of Columbia has reportedly signed several orders to clear pending petitions in the ongoing lawsuit filed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against crypto exchange Binance.

Among the key orders, Jackson cleared an amicus brief filed by the USD Coin (USDC) Issuing Circle on Oct. 12 ahead of a key hearing. To US dollars, like USDC, are not securities.

Circle, at the time, said that buyers of these stablecoins expect no profit from acquiring them. According to Circle, payment stablecoins do not have the “characteristics of an investment contract” per se.

Jackson adopted Circle as amicus curiae in support of both Binance and its CEO Changpeng Zhao's motion to dismiss the suit. The court noted that an amicus curiae can participate in oral arguments only after the court's permission.

An amicus curiae is a person or group who is not a party to a legal dispute but is authorized to assist the court by providing information, knowledge or insight into the matter. The court has jurisdiction to decide whether to consider an amicus brief.

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The SEC filed a 13-count lawsuit against Binance on June 5. The charges involve the sale of unregistered BNB (BNB) and Binance USD (BUSD) tokens. The SEC also found that Binance failed to register as a broker-dealer clearing service and was operating illegally in the United States.

On September 22, Binance and Zhao filed a petition to the court to dismiss the SEC's lawsuit, claiming that the SEC exceeded its jurisdiction. Lawyers for Binance and Zhao said in the petition that the SEC had failed to establish clear rules for the sector before the exchange dispute and that it had lost its authority over the business.

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