The nearly two-year-long legal battle between the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (#SEC ) and #Binance , one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, has officially come to an end. The parties have mutually abandoned all claims against each other in a joint waiver and dismissal statement filed with the court.
🧾 Case Background and Accusations
On June 5, 2023, the SEC filed a lawsuit against Binance and its founder, Changpeng Zhao (CZ). The lawsuit alleged that Binance:
Operated as an unregistered exchange,
Operated as an unregistered brokerage and clearing structure,
And provided misleading information to students.
A total of 13 separate charges were filed. These charges were based on the allegation that Binance’s conduct of business in the U.S. was in violation of its securities laws.
⚖️ Milestones in the Litigation
June 2024: The SEC dropped some of its allegations regarding Binance’s products and services (e.g. BUSD and Simple Earn programs, sales of BNB). However, the underlying allegations were upheld by the court.
February 2025: The parties filed a joint motion to postpone the case for 60 days in order to smooth the process. This was the first sign that a settlement was forming.
May 2025: Finally, the SEC and Binance and CZ formally dropped the entire case with a mutual waiver. The case was completely dropped with a joint statement submitted to the court.
📉 Market Reaction
The announcement of the developments in the case paved the way for major cryptocurrencies. BNB, the native token of the Binance ecosystem, was trading at $676 at the time it was announced on the news. This indicates that the outcome of the case could be priced in.
📌 Why is this development important?
Positive for Binance’s reputation: Especially CZ’s individual withdrawal from the case shows that the elements that damaged its characteristics have been eliminated.
Result of Legal Payments: The impact of divisive pressures and lawsuits in the US on Binance has now significantly diminished.
A precedent for the entire crypto sector: A major member body like the SEC backing down from such an important case is a reference option for current similar cases.