In the ongoing legal battle between Binance and the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the crypto exchange and its CEO, Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, have once again renewed their calls for the dismissal of the lawsuit. Attorneys representing Binance and CZ have submitted statements supporting a motion to dismiss the CFTC’s lawsuit, which was initially filed in March.
In their October 23 filing with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Binance and CZ’s legal teams presented several legal arguments in favor of dismissing the CFTC’s case. They contended that the CFTC’s claims, if upheld by the court, would grant the regulator unprecedented authority to oversee cryptocurrency activities related to derivatives worldwide. They argued that such a broad scope of jurisdiction exceeded the limits imposed by law.
The lawyers representing Binance and CZ further scrutinized each individual count brought by the CFTC, alleging that the regulator was pursuing a novel theory in its anti-evasion claim and had not met the required standards for other counts. Consequently, they urged the court to “dismiss the Complaint with prejudice.”
The CFTC’s lawsuit, initially filed in March, accuses Binance of failing to register with the regulator, thus violating rules pertaining to derivatives trading. The CFTC contends that CZ was aware of Binance’s solicitation of U.S.-based customers, necessitating compliance with regulatory requirements. Binance had previously sought to dismiss the case in July, arguing that the CFTC had overstepped its regulatory authority. Additionally, the crypto exchange faces a lawsuit from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which was filed in June.
