According to a June 17, 2023 press release, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has secured emergency relief against Binance Holdings Limited. Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao also agreed to repatriate to the United States (US) all assets for Binance.US customers.
The court order issued from the United States District Court for the District of Columbia will allow Binance.US customers to withdraw their assets from the Binance.US platform, and any customer’s funds on the platform will remain in the US till the resolution of the SEC’s pending litigation against Binance Holdings Ltd.
Other requirements by the order include the prohibition of the defendants from destroying records, transferring any assets or funds to Binance Holdings Limited, Changpeng Zhao, or their affiliates, and a restriction on spending assets or funds except for ordinary course business expenses.
As per a June 5, 2023 press release, the SEC filed 13 charges against Binance, its entities, and its CEO Changpeng Zhao that included operating unregistered exchanges, misrepresenting trading controls and oversight on the Binance.US platform, and the offering and selling of unregistered securities.
According to a June 6, 2023 press release, the SEC had filed an emergency action seeking a temporary restraining order to freeze, repatriate and ensure that the assets held for the benefit of customers of the Binance.US crypto trading platform remain in the US.
On June 14, 2023, the federal judge overseeing the SEC’s case against Binance.US declined to order a temporary restraining order freezing the U.S. trading platform’s assets and requested the parties to agree on limits to a compromise solution by June 15, 2023.
Binance has been in the news lately, facing various regulatory actions worldwide. Regulatory action against Binance is generally considered significant as Binance is the world’s largest crypto exchange by trading volumes.
On June 16, 2023, Binance announced they were exiting the Dutch market, citing failure to obtain a virtual asset service provider (VASP) registration with the Dutch regulator. Binance advised its users in the Netherlands to withdraw their funds and that no other trading or deposits would be possible.
Binance France is reportedly under investigation by French prosecutors for breaching anti-money laundering procedures and advertising its services before registering with the financial markets regulator. Binance was registered with France’s financial markets regulator in May 2022.
And according to the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission, Binance Cyprus Limited has applied for deregistration.
