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Crypto and secondary sales of Binance's BNB token are not securities, according to a judge who dismissed claims made by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Judge Amy Berman Jackson of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled on 2 July that the regulator failed to prove how secondary buyers of BNB purchased the tokens with the expectation of profits rather than for utility.
“The court held that the SEC failed to plead that purchasers in secondary market sales acquired BNB with an expectation of profits, rather than for other uses, which is a key criterion for passing the Howey test (a legal framework outlined by the Supreme Court to determine whether a transaction qualifies as an investment contract),” Judge Jackson stated.
The SEC previously claimed that 68 cryptocurrencies are securities. BNB and nine other cryptocurrencies were added to the list in June 2023 during its lawsuits against Binance and Coinbase for alleged securities violations.
Binance and its founder, Changpeng Zhao, were sued by the SEC for misappropriating billions of user funds. The exchange was ultimately charged with violating Anti-Money Laundering laws and paid a $4.3 billion fine.
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Judge Jackson's latest ruling has been celebrated by Coinbase, which has been emphasizing the importance of the Howey Test in determining what a cryptocurrency is.
Just over a year ago, the US regulator filed a lawsuit against Coinbase for operating as an "unregistered securities exchange, broker, and clearing agency."
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong hit back at the lawsuit, stating it was a reflection of the SEC's "misguided and conscious refusal" to offer clarity to the crypto industry.
Armstrong even went as far as to say that Coinbase is considering a USA exit on account of the SEC. "I think if a number of years go by where we don’t see regulatory clarity emerge in the US, we may have to consider investing more in other regions of the world," he said.
In a recent filing with the US Court of Appeals, crypto exchange Coinbase lashed out at the SEC, claiming the regulator "is serious about the destruction of digital assets."
Coinbase's chief legal officer slammed the SEC for "choking" the industry.
Today we filed our closing brief in the Third Circuit challenging the SEC’s denial of our rulemaking petition. At the core of this case is a single, conclusory sentence in the SEC order under review. That sentence—which “disagree[d]” that SEC rules are unworkable for digital…
— paulgrewal.eth (@iampaulgrewal) May 31, 2024
Despite Binance's win against the SEC, the price of BNB remains in the red this week - down 5% over the last five days.
Nonetheless, its price is up more than 120% over the year and reached its all-time high of $717.48 last month.
According to recent findings by Forbes, CZ holds 64% of the BNB supply, amounting to $56 billion – the majority of his $61 billion net worth.
Forbes researchers spent months trying to pin down exactly how much $BNB Changpeng Zhao actually owns.
— Forbes Crypto (@ForbesCrypto) June 14, 2024
It is 64% of the entire supply, with a nominal value of $56 billion.
By @eltrade and @Steven_Ehrlich https://t.co/NDynkmU7wH
CZ, who is currently serving his four-month sentence in a low-security federal prison in California, has also retained a 90% stake in Binance.
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