SEC and Binance file joint motion for another 60-day pause in legal dispute

The Securities and Exchange Commission and Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, have asked the judge overseeing their legal dispute to continue keeping the case on hold as lawyers on both sides hold “productive discussions.”

According to a joint court filing submitted Friday, the SEC requested the pause be extended “…In light of these continued discussions and the time required for the staff to seek authorization from the [SEC] as necessary to approve any resolution or changes to the scope of this litigation.” Binance’s lawyers agreed that “…continuing the stay is appropriate and in the interest of judicial economy.”

Judge Amy Berman Jackson of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia granted the parties’ original request to stay the case in February, following a similar joint motion. The approval of another 60-day pause would mean the next joint status report would land in mid-June.

Though some of the SEC’s claims against Binance were partially dismissed by Judge Jackson last June, the majority of the claims were upheld, though it remains unclear how the changing leadership of the SEC will affect the case. Friday’s filing references “discussions concerning how the efforts of the crypto task force may impact the SEC’s claims.”

The SEC’s crypto task force is headed by Republican Commissioner Hester Pierce and has been holding roundtables with industry figures in a move towards more transparent regulation of the crypto industry. “We invite builders, enthusiasts, and skeptics to engage with us to figure out what the final rules should be and what interim steps might help to foster innovation in the meantime,” Pierce said in February, shortly after the task force’s creation.