The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has sued Cumberland DRW, claiming it operates as an unregistered securities dealer. According to the SEC's filing, since March 2018, Cumberland has been trading crypto assets as securities for its proprietary accounts as an unregistered dealer.In response, Cumberland DRW announced on the X platform that the SEC believes some of our trades involving certain crypto assets are securities transactions. We took this step in 2019 by acquiring a registered broker-dealer. Until then—despite Chairman Gensler's calls to "come in and register"—we were only informed that we could trade BTC or ETH (both commodities, not under SEC jurisdiction) through our broker-dealer.Cumberland DRW stated that the SEC's action will not change its business operations or the assets it provides liquidity for. The court's allegations against DRW are "merely based on a 'flat earth' conviction." This time, the SEC's approach seems to be a game of "Catch-22," where the ability to "come in and register" is just a mirage. We are ready to defend ourselves again.

ChainCatcher news, according to foxbusiness, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission must decide by October 7 whether to challenge the ruling made by U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres in July 2023, which found that only some sales of XRP cryptocurrency by Ripple violated securities laws. This ruling has drawn criticism from securities lawyers and other federal judges.This ruling is considered a significant legal victory for the still-nascent cryptocurrency industry as it attempts to demonstrate that this emerging asset class does not violate U.S. securities laws as the SEC believes. It has also become a cornerstone of the legal strategies for other crypto entities, such as trading platforms Coinbase, Binance, and Kraken, which are currently being sued by the commission for allegedly selling unregistered securities.Former SEC enforcement lawyer Arc Powers stated in an interview with Fox Business that the SEC is likely to appeal, as the agency and its cryptocurrency skeptic chair Gary Gensler are determined to exert jurisdiction over this $2 trillion industry.Foxbusiness reports that disclosure is the cornerstone of U.S. securities law. When a company sells stock to raise funds and expand its business, it must file extensive paperwork to provide investors with the information they need to make informed decisions about purchasing the stock. Some legal experts argue that Judge Analisa Torres' ruling undermines this disclosure requirement.

ChainCatcher news, the application by cryptocurrency exchange Kraken to dismiss the SEC lawsuit has been rejected by a federal judge, which means Kraken must face the lawsuit filed by the U.S. SEC, accusing it of operating an unregistered securities exchange.District Judge William H. Orrick wrote in an opinion issued in the San Francisco federal court, "The U.S. SEC reasonably claims that at least some of the cryptocurrency transactions facilitated by Kraken on its platform constitute investment contracts and therefore qualify as securities, thus subject to securities laws." Kraken had argued that it did not need to register with the agency because the transactions on its platform did not involve securities and therefore fell outside the SEC's regulatory scope.It is reported that the U.S. SEC initially filed the lawsuit last November, claiming that Kraken's crypto trading platform operates as an unregistered securities exchange, broker, dealer, and clearing agency.

ChainCatcher news, according to Cointelegraph, the federal court in Northern California denied cryptocurrency exchange Kraken's request to dismiss the SEC lawsuit in a ruling on August 23. The SEC accused Kraken of operating an unregistered securities trading platform, and the court found the SEC's allegations that certain cryptocurrency transactions on the Kraken platform constitute investment contracts to be reasonable. A final ruling in the case has yet to be made.Kraken's Chief Legal Officer Marco Santori stated that they will prove these transactions do not meet the requirements of the Howey test.

ChainCatcher news, Coinbase has countered the motion by the SEC to block the agency's chairman Gary Gensler from "reasonable discovery." Coinbase is currently engaged in a legal battle with the SEC.Coinbase's Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal wrote on X today: "We have responded to the SEC's efforts to block Gary Gensler from reasonable discovery in this case, which was initiated by the SEC (not Coinbase). We appreciate the court's serious consideration of this matter."In a letter submitted to U.S. District Judge Katherine Failla on Wednesday, Coinbase's lawyers stated that the discovery sought from Gensler is relevant to the case, "Gensler's communications regarding the regulatory status of digital assets and exchanges during his tenure as chairman are central to Coinbase's fair notice defense."

ChainCatcher news, Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal stated on X that Coinbase has filed a motion with Judge Katherine Polk Failla seeking an appellate review of the case brought against it by the SEC.Grewal said: "Liability should not depend on which court you are sued in or which judge is assigned to your case. Earlier today, we submitted a notice regarding the decision made by Judge Jackson in the case against Binance. This decision explicitly rejected the SEC's claim that secondary market trading of BNB tokens on the Binance trading platform constitutes an investment contract. Two district courts reached completely opposite views on whether these transactions could constitute securities transactions while analyzing economically identical transactions on the two major U.S. cryptocurrency exchanges. The SEC's litigation-centric approach to cryptocurrency regulation has resulted in market participants now facing different rules, not only in different courts in this region but also in various federal courts across the country."

ChainCatcher news, according to CoinEdition, Ripple's Chief Technology Officer David Schwartz recently expressed support for Consensys in the lawsuit filed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against the cryptocurrency company. Schwartz cited the example of luxury diamond company DeBeer, arguing that MetaMask's services are not profit-driven.Schwartz further elaborated on the investment concepts related to MetaMask, adding that MetaMask's profits are merely the result of external market conditions and user activities, rather than the efforts of Consensys. Additionally, when comparing tokens and securities, he stated, "Tokens governed by smart contracts cannot make all token holders a common enterprise."

ChainCatcher news, according to TheBlock, the Kraken lawsuit hearing is scheduled for June 12 at 2 PM Eastern Time. However, this Thursday, Kraken's lawyers submitted a court document stating that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission "has not found any investment contracts traded, brokered, or settled on Kraken," and therefore hopes to dismiss the lawsuit.

ChainCatcher news, according to Cointelegraph, Terraform Labs' attorneys filed a motion opposing the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)'s request for $5.3 billion in disgorgement and civil penalties against Terraform Labs and its co-founder Do Kwon. In a document submitted to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on April 26, Terraform's legal team suggested that the court impose a maximum civil penalty of $1 million. Terraform argued that the court "should not grant any injunctive relief or disgorgement" because the funds must actually be obtained from the Luna Foundation Guard (LFG), which is a "non-party" to the civil case. Terraform also stated that a $1 million civil penalty is "far more appropriate" than the SEC's billions of dollars in penalties.On April 5, a New York jury found that Terraform and Do Kwon had allegedly deceived investors in the sale statements of TerraUSD (UST), Luna, and wLUNA. Subsequently, the SEC filed a motion seeking the disgorgement of $5.3 billion in illegal profits and civil penalties. Additionally, the SEC proposed to ban Do Kwon from serving as an executive or director of any securities issuer and to provide detailed information about his accounts and assets.

ChainCatcher news, according to CoinDesk, a source revealed that Coinbase has filed an interlocutory appeal against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. In its motion, Coinbase will appeal on whether the SEC has the authority to classify digital asset trading as investment contracts.Last year, Coinbase was sued by the SEC for allegedly operating as an unregistered exchange, broker, and clearing agency. The regulator also raised concerns about Coinbase's staking and wallet services.It is reported that an interlocutory appeal refers to an appeal that occurs before a final judgment is made by the trial court on the entire case, typically not concerning matters that are decisive to the resolution of the case, but rather addressing issues necessary to determine the truth of the case.

ChainCatcher news, according to Cointelegraph, Tron has requested the dismissal of a lawsuit from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), claiming it has no jurisdiction over "digital assets sold to foreign users on a global platform." Tron stated that the sale of tokens was "entirely overseas," and the measures taken were to avoid the U.S. market. The SEC has not accused them of "initially selling or offering to any U.S. residents," nor has it pointed out any victims.Previously, the SEC issued electronic subpoenas to Justin Sun, the Tron Foundation, the BitTorrent Foundation, and BitTorrent in March last year, alleging illegal sales of unregistered securities, fraud, and market manipulation.

ChainCatcher news, according to The Block, a U.S. district judge has dismissed the motion to dismiss the lawsuit filed by the cryptocurrency exchange Gemini and the crypto lending firm Genesis against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regarding the Gemini Earn program.It is reported that Judge Edgardo Ramos stated in an order on Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York that the SEC "reasonably alleges" that Genesis and Gemini offered and sold unregistered securities to retail investors through Gemini Earn. The judge cited the Howey test and the Reves test, which are used to determine whether an asset falls under the jurisdiction of securities law.Judge Ramos indicated that based on the Howey and Reves tests, the SEC reasonably alleged that the defendants offered and sold unregistered securities through the Gemini Earn program. Therefore, the defendants' motion to dismiss was denied.It is understood that the U.S. SEC first charged Gemini and Genesis in January 2023 for issuing and selling unregistered securities to retail investors through Gemini Earn. Genesis and Gemini attempted to dismiss the SEC's lawsuit in May, arguing that the assets involved were not securities.

ChainCatcher news, according to CoinDesk, a Binance.US executive Christopher Blodgett stated in his testimony in December 2023: "After the TRO, we saw about $1 billion in assets leave the platform." This testimony is part of a recently released status update on the SEC-Binance lawsuit.The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) froze Binance.US's operations last year through a temporary restraining order (TRO). The loss of $1 billion in assets led to a 75% decrease in Binance.US's company revenue and the layoff of 200 employees, which is two-thirds of its total workforce. Due to the team being understaffed, the layoffs affected the exchange's ability to respond to the SEC's document requests.Blodgett also mentioned that the exchange's legal fees skyrocketed to $10 million, audit costs increased "tenfold," and they also lost banking relationships, which allowed customers to withdraw digital assets as fiat currency. "The SEC's allegations have severely damaged institutional trust in our platform."

ChainCatcher news, according to The Block, due to severe weather, the court hearing for Binance's lawsuit with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has been postponed to Monday.

ChainCatcher news, according to CoinGape, court documents from the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia show that Binance US is seeking court approval to collaborate with multiple trading parties to dismiss the lawsuit filed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against Binance Holdings. Binance US has also hired several lawyers to join this dismissal case.Additionally, the defendants are requesting Judge Amy Berman Jackson to dismiss the lawsuit, pointing out that the SEC has failed to reasonably allege any investment contracts or violations of securities laws.

ChainCatcher news, according to The Block, Binance stated in a filing submitted on Tuesday that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's complaint primarily targets the click-through website, purchasing tokens from other anonymous token holders, and then canceling transactions made by customers. However, there are no contracts signed with the initiators for investing funds in a joint venture in any of the disputed transactions. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has overlooked the requirement that the existence of an "investment contract" must be determined based on each transaction.The entities operating Binance.US, BAM Trading and BAM Management, also stated in a filing on Tuesday that the SEC's allegations that digital asset transactions on the BAM platform constitute investment contracts are insufficient.Previously, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed a lawsuit against Binance and its founder Changpeng Zhao in June this year, alleging that the cryptocurrency exchange platform transferred funds to another investment fund owned by Zhao without informing customers.

ChainCatcher news, according to Bitcoin.com, in the lawsuit filed by the U.S. SEC against Tron founder Justin Sun and his company Rainberry, the court has agreed to extend the defense time, postponing the deadline for Justin Sun to prepare his defense to December 8, 2023. This provides Justin Sun's lawyers with the possibility to address the SEC's allegations against the defendants before the motion practice.The report states that there are two reasons for this adjustment of the defense deadline. First, the Tron Foundation was dissolved in April 2023 and is currently seeking recovery in Singapore. Another catalyst is the recent developments in the lawsuit between the U.S. SEC and Ripple Labs Inc.Previously, in March of this year, the U.S. SEC sued Justin Sun, the Tron Foundation, the BitTorrent Foundation, and BitTorrent (now known as Rainberry) for selling unregistered crypto asset securities TRX and BTT.