United States District Judge Amy Berman Jackson of the District Court for the District of Columbia has reportedly signed multiple orders to clear pending motions in the ongoing lawsuit filed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against crypto exchange Binance ahead of a crucial hearing.
Among the key orders, Jackson cleared an amicus brief filed by USD Coin (USDC) issuer Circle before the key hearing on Oct. 12. Circle filed a court motion on Sept. 29 in the ongoing SEC vs. Binance lawsuit, arguing that assets pegged to the U.S. dollar, such as USDC, are not securities.
Circle, at the time, Circle said that buyers of these stablecoins do not expect any profit from acquiring them. According to Circle, payment stablecoins do not have the “features of an investment contract” on their own.
Jackson accepted Circle as amicus curiae in support of neither Binance nor its CEO Changpeng Zhao’s motions to dismiss the lawsuit. The court also reminded that the amicus curiae may only participate in oral argument after the court’s permission.
An amicus curiae is a person or group that is not a party to the legal dispute but is permitted to assist the court by providing information, expertise or insight on the case. The court has the power to decide whether to consider an amicus brief.
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The SEC filed a lawsuit with 13 charges against Binance on June 5. Charges include unregistered securities sales of BNB (BNB) and Binance USD (BUSD) tokens. The SEC also claims that Binance failed to register as a broker-dealer clearing service and operated illegally in the United States.
On Sept. 22, Binance and Zhao petitioned the court to dismiss the SEC lawsuit, alleging that the SEC had overstepped its powers. Binance and Zhao’s lawyers stated in a petition that the SEC failed to establish clear norms for the sector before the exchange’s litigation and imposed its jurisdiction over the business.
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