In a significant development that could have far-reaching implications for the cryptocurrency industry, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has accused the popular cryptocurrency exchange Binance of listing securities.
The agency claims that the total number of digital assets classified as “securities” has now reached an estimated 61, including a number of additional assets added from the ongoing lawsuit against Binance. However, the SEC does not mention ETH (Ethereum).
The SEC’s chairman, Gary Gensler, previously declared that “everything else other than Bitcoin” falls under the agency’s jurisdiction as securities. The leading cryptocurrency data website, CoinMarketCap, currently lists approximately 25,500 existing cryptocurrencies.
The SEC has identified several cryptocurrencies it considers to be securities, including XRP, Salt (SALT), Beaxy Token (BXY), DragonChain (DRGN), Tron (TRX), BitTorrent (BTT), Terra USD (UST), Luna (LUNA), Mirror Protocol (MIR), Mango (MNGO), Ducat (DUCAT), Locke (LOCKE), EthereumMax (EMAX), Hydro (HYDRO), BitConnect (BCC), Meta 1 Coin (META1), Filecoin (FIL), BNB (BNB), Binance USD (BUSD), Solana (SOL), Cardano (ADA), Polygon (MATIC), Cosmos (ATOM), The Sandbox (SAND), Decentraland (MANA), Axie Infinity (AXS), COTI (COTI), Paragon (PRG), and AirToken (AIR).
Of particular concern are the Mirror Protocol’s mAssets, which are tokenized versions of traditional assets. These include Mirrored Apple Inc. (mAAPL), Mirrored Amazon.com, Inc. (mAMZN), Mirrored Alibaba Group Holding Limited (mBABA), Mirrored Alphabet Inc. (mGOOGL), Mirrored Microsoft Corporation (mMSFT), Mirrored Netflix, Inc. (mNFLX), Mirrored Tesla, Inc. (mTSLA), Mirrored Twitter Inc. (mTWTR), Mirrored iShares Gold Trust (mIAU), Mirrored Invesco QQQ Trust (mQQQ), Mirrored iShares Silver Trust (mSLV), Mirrored United States Oil Fund, LP (mUSO), and Mirrored ProShares VIX Short-Term Futures ETF (mVIXY).
Today we charged Binance Holdings Ltd. (Binance); U.S.-based affiliate, BAM Trading Services Inc., which, together with Binance, operates https://t.co/swcxioZKVP; and their founder, Changpeng Zhao, with a variety of securities law violations.https://t.co/H1wgGgR5ir pic.twitter.com/IWTb7Et86H
— U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (@SECGov) June 5, 2023
The accusations against Binance are a significant step in the SEC’s ongoing efforts to regulate the rapidly expanding cryptocurrency market. By labeling these cryptocurrencies as securities, the SEC asserts its authority to oversee their trading and protect investors.
Cryptocurrencies that fall under the category of securities are subject to stringent regulations regarding registration, disclosure, and trading. The SEC aims to prevent fraudulent activities, market manipulation, and other illegal practices associated with securities trading. The recent allegations against Binance indicate the SEC’s commitment to assert its regulatory power and enforce compliance within the crypto space.
Binance is now facing heightened scrutiny from regulators. The outcome of the SEC’s lawsuit against Binance will likely have significant implications for the entire cryptocurrency industry, shaping the regulatory landscape and influencing how digital assets are treated in the future.
It is important to note that these allegations are part of an ongoing legal process, and Binance will have an opportunity to present its defense. However, the SEC’s move underscores the increasing focus on cryptocurrency regulations and the need for clear guidelines to govern this rapidly evolving market.
Read more:
- Binance Faces SEC Lawsuit Over Alleged Securities Rule Violations, Resulting In A 6% Plunge In BNB Price
- SEC Lawsuit Against Binance Leads To $315 Million In Liquidation
- Binance Accuses SEC Of Regulatory Overreach And Lack Of Clarity In Cryptocurrency Laws
- Binance Records Substantial Net Outflow Of 11,380 BTC In The First Day Following SEC Lawsuit