Binance.US, won its lawsuit against the Florida state regulator’s Emergency Suspension Order (ESO). Florida’s First District Court of Appeal ruled on Wednesday, May 22, that the company cannot be prevented from operating in the state.
Florida First District Court of Appeals, Changpeng Zhao and stated that Binance Holdings’ allegations that they failed to comply with the Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Bank Secrecy Act were not enough to stop Binance.US’ operations. The court emphasized that the Florida Office of Financial Regulation (OFR) did not reach a legal conclusion that Zhao’s actions posed an immediate danger to the public health, safety, and welfare.
On November 29, 2023, OFR issued an emergency suspension order (ESO) to suspend Binance.US’ license to operate money services and ordered the exchange to cease engaging in money transmission activities. The court analysis stated that ESO contained a material error in its procedure and interpretation of Florida Statutes sections 560.114(2) and 120.60(6). It was also stated that ESO did not consider alternative solutions instead of suspending the license and this situation could lead to significant financial losses.
Binance.US Faces Challenges
Binance‘s subsidiary Binance.US has experienced a severe decline in trading volumes due to multiple challenges, including the suspension of its money transfer license and increased scrutiny from regulators.
The case between Binance and the SEC is in the discovery and deposition phase, and the parties are trying to resolve disputes regarding the court’s previous consent order.
Recently, there has been an important development for Binance. Using key details obtained in the US Eisenberg case, he attempts to refute the SEC’s claims that BUSD and USDC are unregistered securities. Evidence was presented in the US Department of Justice filing stating that the USDC stablecoin is not a security because it does not pass the Howey test.
“There is no realistic basis for considering USDC a security or for this issue to be brought to a jury,” the Justice Department filing said. “The essential component of a security is that its holders ‘expect to profit’ from the efforts of others,” it said.
