
SEC expands its Binance lawsuit, classifying tokens like Axie Infinity as securities.
Binance faces new SEC allegations of trading unregistered securities without proper registration.
Critics argue SEC's expanded legal action appears inconsistent, confusing, and lacks clear regulations.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has ramped up its legal action against Binance, one of the worldโs leading cryptocurrency exchanges. The SEC has added more tokens to its lawsuit, now labeling Axie Infinity Shards, Filecoin, Cosmosโ ATOM, Sandbox, and Decentraland as securities.
However, in a recent update, the SEC clarified that other well-known tokens like Solana and Cardano are not considered securities, adding a twist to the ongoing case.
New Allegations Against Binance
The expanded lawsuit also accuses Binance and its U.S. affiliate, BAM Trading, of allowing the trading of these newly identified securities without proper registration. According to the SEC, Binanceโs platforms were filled with promotional material from token creators, making these tokens appear to be attractive investment opportunities.
The SEC claims that Binance played a role in creating a market where these tokens were presented as safe investments, misleading investors.
Is Binance “Illegal”?
Alongside these claims, the SEC has accused Binance of illegally operating as an exchange, broker-dealer, and clearing agency without proper registrations. The regulator argues that Binanceโs operations violated securities laws by trading unregistered securities.
Additionally, the SEC alleges that Binance did not fully inform its users about the risks and legal issues surrounding the tokens traded on its platform, both in the U.S. and globally.
Crypto Community Lashes Out – SEC Under Fire!
The SECโs expanded lawsuit has faced strong criticism. Some argue that the agencyโs actions seem more like a “witch hunt” than a genuine effort to create clear regulations. Critics also point to the SECโs inconsistent handling of crypto cases, which they believe is confusing and unhelpful to the industry.
Rippleโs Chief Legal Officer, Stuart Alderoty, has called out inconsistencies in the SECโs actions, specifically criticizing the use of the term โcrypto asset securityโ as a made-up concept.
Coinbaseโs Chief Legal Officer, Paul Grewal, has also raised concerns, saying the SECโs contradictory and disorganized approach is harming the growth of the crypto market.
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The SEC’s expanded lawsuit against Binance raises questions about the blurred lines between securities and digital assets. Will this case provide clarity or further fuel the regulatory uncertainty?