SEC seeks to freeze assets held by Binance.US

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a motion to freeze digital assets held by Binance.US.

According to The Block, the Commission sought to freeze assets on accusations that executives and Zhao himself redirected client funds into his own investment funds.

“The SEC respectfully states that this relief is necessary on an expedited basis to protect client assets. […] We take into account the defendants’ long history of violations, disregard for U.S. laws, evasion of regulatory oversight and open questions about various transfers, storage and control of client assets,” the regulator said in its statement.

The U.S. arm of the exchange posted a message on Twitter in which it called the regulator’s actions “unfounded.” The platform’s representatives assured that client funds are safe.

This afternoon, the SEC filed a motion seeking a TRO and preliminary injunction against https://t.co/AZwoBOgsqS attempting to, amongst other things, freeze https://t.co/AZwoBOgsqS corporate assets. User assets remain safe and secure and the platform continues to be fully…

— Binance.US ?? (@BinanceUS) June 6, 2023

“Despite years of operation, SEC staff did not express concerns about the safety of client assets. […] We are disappointed by this action and look forward to defending ourselves in court,” the company said.

On June 5, the SEC filed suit against Binance and Changpeng Zhao. The regulator brought 13 charges, including the sale of unregistered securities.

Subsequently, reports emerged that the Commission’s claims are analogous to the charges brought by the agency against the failed cryptocurrency exchange FTX and its subsidiary Alameda Research.

Earlier, on June 6, the SEC filed suit against the Coinbase exchange. The regulator also contends that the platform violated securities laws.

Update (07.06.23, 13:55 (Kyiv/Moscow time)): changes were made to the headline and the first paragraph with clarified information.