Binance Vs SEC Case In Final Stages of Discovery and Depositions Resolution: Court Filing

Story Highlights

• Binance, Binance.US, and Changpeng "CZ" Zhao have met almost all discovery and depositions requirements.
• The parties agreed to report new disputes to the court and state their positions on hearing.
• Binance separates its systems with Binance.US after CZ stepped down from CEO position.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) lawsuit against Binance Holdings, Binance.US, and Changpeng “CZ” Zhao reaches the final stages of dispute resolution. The defendants have met almost all discovery and depositions requirements by the US SEC, with a final joint status report and a potential briefing in April.

Binance and SEC Files Joint Status Report

Plaintiff and Defendants including Binance.US and Changpeng “CZ” Zhao filed a joint status report, as per a court filing late March 22.

BAM-Related Discovery

The SEC claimed BAM Management US Holdings and BAM Trading Services (Binance.US) have provided most of the outstanding discovery requests, with some details available with Binance Holdings. The SEC will process and review BAM’s production of details, but stated “It is premature to determine whether expedited discovery as to BAM is complete.

Binance.US revealed that it has produced 290,000 pages of documents and believes it has more than satisfied its obligations under the consent order with respect to expedited discovery. BAM intends to file a motion requesting the court to consider the expedited discovery as complete if the SEC still continues to ask for new discovery documents and depositions.

Binance Holdings Discovery and Depositions

The SEC will continue to meet and confer with Binance regarding outstanding discovery requests. The SEC’s discovery requests include a description of Binance’s search parameters and privilege log information for “any documents or information that have been withheld on the basis of any asserted privilege.” Also, SEC and Binance have agreed to finalize the discovery and depositions.

Binance claims it has fully addressed SEC’s queries on wallet software and associated custody of BAM customer assets. The company will provide reasonable searches and produce non-privileged, responsive communications between Binance and Binance.US employees in early April. Also, the parties agreed to resolve any disagreement on the topics in the court.

CZ-Related Discovery

The SEC informed the court that they served CZ with a set of limited interrogatories, considering that this discovery will potentially reduce or avert further discovery requirements from him. However, CZ has not replied to the letter.

Meanwhile, CZ claims to address the SEC’s concerns in a letter this week. However, he expressed that the SEC hasn’t responded to his earlier letter and deems its deadline is April 2.

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Next Action Plan

The SEC proposes that the parties will submit the next status report by April 5. The parties agreed to report new disputes to the court and state their positions on whether briefing or a hearing would be helpful for the Court to address any issues.

Crypto exchange Binance has made significant developments amid heightened regulatory scrutiny and the ongoing lawsuit against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Binance even silently spin-off its $10 billion venture capital arm Binance Labs from crypto exchange business, as reported by CoinGape.

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