The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has formally requested a federal judge to dismiss its sweeping civil complaint against leading cryptocurrency exchange Binance and its influential founder, Changpeng ‘CZ’ Zhao. The motion, contained within a four-page filing submitted on May 29 to the District Court docket, marks a potential inflection point in the regulatory landscape for digital assets.
This development follows a strategic 60-day pause in the case, imposed by Judge Amy Berman Jackson in February. That temporary halt was initiated after both the SEC and Binance informed the court that a newly formed SEC crypto task force, spearheaded by Commissioner Hester Peirce, could potentially “impact and facilitate” a resolution to the complex litigation. The reprieve allowed the task force to meticulously review the applicability of existing securities regulations to digital-asset trading venues.
The news was met with immediate enthusiasm from Binance, which declared the dismissal a “huge win for crypto” in a statement shared via X. The company publicly thanked “Chairman Atkins & the Trump team for pushing back against regulation by enforcement,” asserting that “U.S. innovation is back on track – and it’s just the beginning.” This strong reaction underscores the perceived implications of the SEC’s decision for the broader cryptocurrency ecosystem, which has often criticized the agency’s “regulation by enforcement” approach.
