In change in crypto enforcement, SEC and Binance seek pause in lawsuit

The joint motion is first clear effort to retreat from the US regulator’s previous crypto enforcement under Democratic leadership. The motion to request a stay for 60 days marks the first clear effort to retreat from the SEC’s previous crypto enforcement under Democratic leadership. In a joint motion filed late on Monday, the parties said the SEC’s task force, formed last month to work on crypto regulations, may “impact and facilitate the potential resolution of this case”. At an event of the Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies, a conservative and libertarian legal organisation, on Tuesday, Republican SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce said: “We’ve been approaching it backwards, using our enforcement division to set policy.” ‘SEC’s shift on crypto’ The SEC regulator sued Binance in June 2023, as well as its US unit and founder Changpeng Zhao, accusing them of artificially inflating trading volumes, diverting customer funds and misleading investors about its market surveillance controls. The SEC’s prior chair, Gary Gensler, had asked Congress to help the agency rein in the crypto “Wild West”.