U.S. Court Approves Agreement Between SEC and Binance.US

U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson approved the agreement between Binance.US, Binance, and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), dismissing the previous temporary restraining order (TRO) that would have frozen all assets of Binance.US.

Jackson stated on June 14 that she would prefer the parties to reach an agreement independently rather than wait for a court decision. The two sides reportedly reached an agreement on June 16.

– “We are pleased to inform you that the Court did not grant the SEC’s request for a TRO and asset freeze on our platform, which was clearly unjustified both factually and legally,” Binance.US announced on Twitter.

According to the approved agreement, only employees of Binance.US will have access to client funds while the litigation is pending. U.S. users will retain the ability to withdraw funds during this period.

– “The SEC has never presented evidence of client asset misuse. In fact, SEC attorneys admitted in court earlier this week, in response to a judge’s inquiry, that they have no evidence suggesting that such a thing occurred,” Binance.US stated regarding claims of malicious asset management.

In a Twitter comment on this case, former head of the SEC’s Enforcement Division John Reed Stark noted that the agreement includes a ‘particularly interesting provision’ regarding the repatriation of certain assets to the U.S.

Additionally, the agreement states that Binance.US must immediately take steps to ensure ‘verified accounting’ of accounts related to entities valued over $1,000.

The SEC filed an emergency request for a temporary restraining order against Binance.US on June 6 after accusing Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao of having access to Binance.US user funds in the lawsuit. The regulator claimed that Zhao transferred $12 billion of Binance’s assets through an entity he controlled called Merit Peak.

Ahead of the access hearing, Binance.US and Zhao submitted a joint memorandum denying that the funds were ever mismanaged. According to them, the SEC has not identified any instance in which Binance.US client funds were misused.