Binance Says It Intends to File Motion to Dismiss CFTC Complaint

Top crypto exchange Binance intends to ask a court to dismiss the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC) suit against it, according to a new filing on Monday.

The CFTC sued Binance, its founder Changpeng Zhao and compliance officer Samuel Lim in a U.S. court in Illinois in March, alleging that the exchange operated a derivatives trading operation in the U.S. and directed its American employees to obscure their locations to evade restrictions.

Binance was also sued by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which asked for a temporary restraining order to be placed on all funds deposited at Binance.US — the American arm of the company. The restraining order, called a "death penalty" by a lawyer for Binance.US, was never put in place as Binance.US and the SEC agreed to a deal that would see the branch's assets and servers be put under the control of only its U.S.-based staff.

Since then, attitudes toward the U.S. regulatory environment have shifted, with Ripple scoring a partial win against the Securities and Exchange Commission earlier in July.

Binance’s response to the CFTC’s complaint is due later this week, on July 27. The filing did not specify Binance’s argument, only that it is requesting to exceed the standard 15-page limit due to the complexity of the case. According to the filing, Lim also intends to file a separate Motion to Dismiss.

UPDATE (July 25, 01:50 UTC): Adds more details about SEC suit.