SEC Drops Case Against Binance and Its Founder Changpeng Zhao
Date: 2025-05-30 Author: Gabriel Deangelo Categories: BUSINESS
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has officially withdrawn its civil lawsuit against the cryptocurrency exchange Binance and its founder Changpeng Zhao. The statement of withdrawal was sent to the federal court in the District of Columbia and signed by the parties, including lawyers for the SEC itself, representatives of Binance, and Zhao. This means that the commission will no longer be able to reopen the case in the future.
The lawsuit was originally filed in the summer of 2023. At that time, the SEC accused Binance of manipulating trading volumes, misusing customer funds, and misinforming investors. The exchange, according to the commission, also facilitated the trading of tokens, which, according to the SEC, should have been classified as securities and properly registered. However, at the end of May 2025, the agency decided that the dismissal of the claim was consistent with the SEC's current position on other crypto courts, and further proceedings were pointless.
Binance called the regulator's decision an important step. A company representative noted that such actions by the authorities confirm that technological innovations cannot develop under constant pressure from law enforcement agencies. At the same time, the SEC declined to comment further on its decision.
This is not the first court case related to Binance. In November 2023, the exchange pleaded guilty to a case of violating US anti-money laundering and sanctions compliance laws. At that time, the company agreed to pay a fine of $4.32 billion. As part of the same case, Changpeng Zhao received a four-month prison sentence, which he served and was released in September 2024, having also paid a personal fine of $50 million. Despite all this, he remains the largest shareholder of Binance and lives in Abu Dhabi after his release. According to the latest Forbes data, his fortune is estimated at $61.7 billion, ranking him 23rd among the richest people in the world.
In March 2025, Zhao denied rumors of talks with Donald Trump's team regarding a possible pardon and a deal with Binance.US, stating that no discussions on this topic had taken place.
It is curious that earlier, in February 2025, the SEC also withdrew a similar lawsuit against Coinbase, which was accused of trading 13 unregistered tokens. Later, SEC Chairman Paul Atkins emphasized that the commission's priority would be to create clear regulatory rules for the crypto industry to ensure transparency and compliance with the law.
