A joint status report has been filed in the lawsuit between the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Binance Holdings Ltd. The report, filed on January 25, 2024, outlines the status of the case, focusing on discovery-related matters involving BAM Management U.S. Holdings Inc., BAM Trading Services Inc., and Binance, the defendants collectively being termed as “BAM”.
In the initial part of the report termed BAM-Related Discovery, the SEC claimed BAM is yet to produce some of the documents it considers crucial to the case. According to the regulator, BAM has not produced any more documents since December 15, 2023, when it submitted its last status report.
The joint status report noted that following BAM’s last status report, the SEC sent a letter on December 22, 2023, identifying several gaps in BAM’s production. BAM responded to that letter on the evening of January 23, 2024. However, the SEC insisted there is an outstanding discovery necessary to resolve the issue relating to the Consent Order.
Contrary to the SEC’s position, the joint status report shows that BAM does not believe there are gaps in its production. BAM’s position is that it intends to make one final production of documents in response to the SEC’s expedited discovery requests next week.
The concluding part of the report, termed Binance/Zhao-Related Discovery, stated that neither Binance nor Zhao have produced any documents since the last status report. The joint status report noted that the SEC had contacted Binance regarding the discovery requests. Binance replied and agreed to provide a substantive response under a separate cover.
However, the joint status report noted that the parties will continue to meet and confer concerning the scope of Binance’s and Zhao’s document productions. They are expected to meet before the next status report to the Court.
Crypto giant Binance US in hot water: Regulatory freeze shuts down Alaska & Florida operations.
Binance US, a subsidiary of the world’s largest crypto exchange, has been facing increasing regulatory problems since CEO Changpeng Zhao’s resignation and US Department of Justice investigations, In recent news Binance US has been stopped from operating in Alaska and Florida.
According to a court filing, Florida regulators have taken legal actions against Binance US, they cited Binance US as a danger to the public and suspended the crypto firm’s services in the state, the regulators claimed that this suspension is aimed at protecting the public’s interest.
Binance US got a money services license from Florida in 2020 which would expire in April 2024. Changpeng Zhao, founder and former CEO of Binance Holdings also faces criminal charges for not maintaining a good anti-money laundering program.
Along with the regulatory setback in Florida, BinanceUS also faces issues in Alaska. Alaska’s banking division has refused to renew Binance US’s license for undisclosed reasons.
These steps by Alaska and Florida show regulators’ efforts to control cryptocurrency companies in the US. The recent change in Binance’s leadership and Changpeng Zhao’s criminal Charges have made things even harder for the company.
Binance must work with regulators to solve these problems which could impact the whole cryptocurrency industry.