The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is set to modify its complaint against Binance, as it will dismiss some of the charges against third-party tokens. The Binance lawsuit seems to have taken a new turn.
This comes after the SEC filed a court early Tuesday to inform Binance and related companies of its actions. These tokens include Solana’s SOL and Polygon’s MATIC.
SEC Takes New Step in Binance Lawsuit
The SEC’s decision is a new and promising step in the agency’s legal practice. At first, the SEC deemed ten third-party tokens, including SOL and MATIC, unregistered securities. However, the agency plans to file a motion to amend its complaint, which could exclude these tokens from the case.
The topic of third-party tokens became particularly relevant during the hearing on July 9. Binance’s lawyers claimed that these tokens were no longer deemed part of the lawsuit by an earlier judgment. Judge Amy Berman Jackson explained that this was not her intention, leading to the SEC’s recent filing.
SEC and Binance Agree on Amended Timeline
This change directly affects the current legal battle between the SEC and Binance. The joint response filed on Tuesday, according to the court order, explained the views of both parties regarding the way to proceed. Both the SEC and the defendants have agreed on the timeline for filing the amended complaint and the follow-on pleadings.
The defense wants to review the amended complaint before initiating discovery proceedings. They contend that proceeding with discovery on possible new claims is improper. This approach can be seen as cautious, as the parties involved want to avoid misunderstandings.
This may impact other regulatory perspectives since the SEC has decided to amend its complaint. Although there is no direct suggestion that the SEC will drop its case that these tokens are securities, the change is significant. This could have implications for the classification of crypto assets in the future.
Solana ETFs May Benefit from SEC Change
If the SEC drops the cases based on its claim that SOL and other tokens are securities, it is likely to have a positive impact on cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds (ETFs) with exposure to altcoins other than Ethereum. Firms such as VanEck and 21Shares have applied for spot Solana ETFs in the U.S., but experts are still not sure that the SEC will allow this kind of ETF beyond Bitcoin and Ethereum.
According to Robert Mitchnick, the Head of Digital Assets at BlackRock even after the debut of spot Ethereum ETFs, the SEC will probably not allow other crypto ETFs in the near future. This approach is in line with the general bureaucratic approach in the crypto market to this date.
As for the potential amendment of the SEC’s complaint against Binance, this could prove to be a positive factor that will influence the movement of altcoin-related ETFs. Nevertheless, the general legal framework is still not very clear. Market participants are tuning in to see how these changes will progress.
