Binance.US & SEC Working on Asset Freeze Compromise

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Binance.US are working on a deal to avoid an asset freeze. The move follows an urge to come to a compromise from the judge presiding over the case.

On June 13, U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson said that Binance.US and the SEC “aren’t that far apart” on ways to protect billions of dollars in customer funds. Avoiding an exchange shutdown and further harming investors would be preferable, she suggested.

A Minor Victory in Binance.US vs SEC

Judge Jackson referred the two to a magistrate judge to work on a compromise agreement, reported Bloomberg.

“The nitty-gritty of it is better handled by you than by me,” she said. The judge added that she wouldn’t need to rule on the SEC’s emergency request to freeze funds if a deal is struck.

The regulator filed an emergency motion to freeze the assets of BAM Management and BAM Trading on June 6. The two firms manage operations for Binance.US and Binance, the global exchange over which the SEC has no jurisdiction.

In its lawsuit, the SEC accused Binance and CEO Changpeng Zhao of mishandling customer funds, misleading investors and regulators, and violating securities laws.

Binance.US responded by stating that the filing was based on “SEC Staff obtaining an advantage in litigation versus genuine concern about the safety of customer assets.”

In yesterday’s hearing, one of the Binance.US lawyers said, “We are not willing to accept the death penalty eight days into our case.” They added that an exchange shutdown would affect operational expenses such as salaries, rent, and vendors. Additionally, “an asset freeze will be misconstrued by banks.”

Binance has already lost its U.S. banking partners and said that it would become a crypto-only exchange while the legal proceedings continue.

The judge agreed, so it was a small victory for Binance.US in the war against Gary Gensler and crew.

“Shutting it down completely would create significant consequences not only for the company but for the digital asset markets in general,”

The SEC’s action has already hurt digital asset markets. More than $80 billion has left the space since its twin lawsuits last week.

BNB Price Manipulation Alleged

On June 13, the ‘@54kskew’ trading feed told its 81,000 followers that BTC was being sold off for USDT reserves. These are “being pumped into BNB aggressively since 27th May,” it added.

The BNB was being sold for BUSD, which was “pumped into BTC to suppress downside volatility so BTC can be swapped out for USDT.”

“This is technically market manipulation, Binance is definitely up to something here to prevent BNB from crashing as well BTC.”

Changpeng Zhao denied wrongdoing, stating, “Binance has not sold BTC or BNB. We even still have a bag of FTT.”

BNB prices were up 7% on the day to reach $249 at the time of writing.