Binance.US Now Has an Unexpected Ally in its Fight Against the SEC

Binance.US has garnered support from a major crypto lobbyist group in warding off an ongoing lawsuit from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). In a new amicus brief, the US Chamber of Digital Commerce argued that the agency’s claims against the exchange are misplaced, and that its actions are turning crypto businesses away from its borders. In the Thursday filing, the lobbyists echoed previous criticisms from industry leaders that the SEC is creating a hostile environment for crypto businesses through “regulation by enforcement.”

The SEC has already launched enforcement actions against dozens of major crypto firms which, as of this year, include industry giants like Kraken, Coinbase, and Binance. Numerous pro-crypto politicians and industry leaders alike have claimed that crypto would flee the U.S. if the agency continued down this path. Crypto lender Nexo, for example, closed down its Earn program in the U.S. earlier this year after paying a $45 million fine to the SEC. In the case of Binance, the SEC alleged on June 5 that the exchange offered over a dozen securities for trade, including BNB, BUSD, SOL, ADA, MATIC, and others. Industry leaders like Coinbase, however, have argued that there exist no clear rules on how crypto interacts with securities law, and that the SEC is overstepping its authority in crypto.