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SEC seeks complaint amendment to redefine crypto asset securities

Vivian Nguyen

Jul. 30, 2024

SEC and Binance agree on legal timeline amid dispute.

SEC seeks to redefine Solana and other crypto asset securities in amended complaint against Binance

Key Takeaways

SEC plans to redefine crypto securities in Binance lawsuit.
Due to the impending amendment, the court will postpone its decision on the sufficiency of the original allegations regarding these securities.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is seeking to amend its complaint against Binance Holdings, Binance.US, and Binance’s former CEO Changpeng Zhao, according to a joint filing dated July 30, 2024. The specific changes will involve redefining “third-party crypto asset securities,” potentially including Solana (SOL).

“The SEC informed Defendants that it intends to seek leave to amend its Complaint, including with respect to the “Third Party Crypto Asset Securities” as defined in the SEC’s Omnibus Opposition to Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss, Dkt. No. 172, obviating the need for the Court to issue a ruling as to the sufficiency of the allegations as to those tokens at this time,” the filing wrote.

The SEC previously identified 10 coins as securities in its lawsuit against Binance, including Filecoin (FIL), Algorand (ALGO), Solana (SOL), Cardano (ADA), Polygon (MATIC), Cosmos (ATOM), The Sandbox (SAND), Decentraland (MANA), Axie Infinity (AXS) and COTI (COTI).

While the recent legal document suggests a potential shift in its stance on crypto asset securities, there’s no explicit indication that the agency plans to abandon its argument that these tokens are securities.

As noted, the SEC and the defendants have agreed on a timeline for the amended complaint and subsequent legal responses, though they remain at odds over initiating discovery on claims that have previously survived pending the amendment’s resolution.

If the SEC decides to dismiss its claims that SOL and other tokens in its lawsuit against Binance are securities, it could be a positive catalyst for crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs) tied to altcoins beyond Ethereum. Recently, VanEck and 21Shares filed for spot Solana ETFs in the US.

However, experts believe that the SEC will not accept crypto ETFs besides Bitcoin and Ethereum.

BlackRock’s Head of Digital Assets, Robert Mitchnick, stated that although spot Ethereum ETFs were launched last week, they are unlikely to pave the way for other crypto ETFs.

This is a developing story. We’ll give updates on the situation as we learn more.

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