SEC Capitalizes on Terraform Triumph, Targeting Coinbase and Binance!

Key Points:

• The SEC leverages a recent Terraform Labs court victory to strengthen cases against crypto giants Coinbase and Binance.
• UST, LUNA, wLUNA, and MIR ruled as securities; SEC tightens grip on Coinbase and Binance legal battles.
• Terraform’s influence echoes in SEC’s opposition to Coinbase motion, setting the stage for a pivotal legal showdown.

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is leveraging a recent partial victory in its court battle against Terraform Labs to fortify its separate cases against leading cryptocurrency exchanges, Coinbase and Binance.

The SEC, in a recent filing related to the Coinbase case, presented the Terraform Labs court ruling from the Southern District of New York. This ruling granted a summary judgment, affirming that UST, LUNA, wLUNA, and MIR tokens qualify as securities.

By incorporating the Terra court’s decision, the SEC aims to bolster its position and counter Coinbase’s motion for a judgment in its favor. The SEC contends that each crypto asset issuer, including those on Coinbase’s platform, led investors to reasonably expect an increase in their investment based on the issuer’s plan to develop and maintain the asset’s value.

Binance, Terraform, and SEC: Legal Storm Unfolds!

Notably, the tokens mentioned in the Terraform ruling, UST, LUNA, wLUNA, and MIR, differ from those listed in the SEC’s complaint against Coinbase. The latter focuses on tokens such as SOL, ADA, MATIC, FIL, SAND, AXS, CHZ, FLOW, ICP, NEAR, VGX, DASH, and NEXO as potential unregistered securities.

In a parallel lawsuit against Binance, the SEC is adopting a similar strategy. A recent filing urged a D.C. court to consider the Terraform judgment when evaluating Binance’s motions to dismiss the case. The SEC highlighted the relevance of the Terraform court’s analysis of UST stablecoin to Binance’s BUSD stablecoin, as well as its programs like BNB Vault and Simple Earn.

The agency pointed out parallels between Terraform Labs’ previous arguments and Binance’s current defense, emphasizing the need for the court to reject dismissal motions. Despite Binance’s recent settlement with the Department of Justice, including a $4.3 billion penalty, the SEC’s lawsuit against Binance for operating an unregistered securities exchange remains ongoing.