Binance.US Seeks Protective Order Amid SEC’s Broad Discovery

Binance.US has taken legal action by filing a motion for a protective order to limit the extent of discovery requested by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in their ongoing case against the cryptocurrency exchange. 

This action follows the SEC’s discovery requests being deemed to go beyond the scope outlined in the initial consent order between Binance.US and the regulatory agency.

The two organizations had an agreement for the SEC to examine documents and procedures under Binance.US as it relates to how the crypto exchange handles customers’ assets and other business processes. 

“The SEC has spent the past 45 days serving incredibly overbroad and unreasonable discovery requests that seek, on their face, every single document in [Binance.US] possession related to customer assets,” Binance US said. 

“The SEC has been steadfast in its belief that the consent order gives it carte blanche to investigate every aspect of [our] asset custody practices without any discernible limitation whatsoever.”

Binance US also pointed out that the SEC intends to conduct depositions with executive members, and other employees.  

This ongoing legal conflict began in June when the SEC filed a 13-count accusation against the cryptocurrency company. The SEC alleged that Binance and its executives were involved in actions such as inflating trading volumes, redirecting customer funds, neglecting to bar U.S. customers from its platform, and providing misleading information about its market surveillance control.

Despite all the filings and investigations, Binance US noted that the SEC has yet to discover anything incriminating about the company. As a result, it aims to limit the authorities from exceeding the scope of the earlier accepted agreement.

Additionally, the company suggested that the SEC should first depose employees with deeper knowledge of asset custody before targeting top executives as it will disrupt operations as well.

Read also; Celsius seeks Approval to Launch New Company Under Creditor Ownership