Binance, Coinbase head to court; the SEC labels 67 crypto-securities

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U.S. SEC sues Binance and Coinbase amidst crypto crackdown

Binance and Coinbase have been targeted in a new round of lawsuits by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against crypto businesses. The regulator pressed 13 charges against Binance on June 5, including those involving unregistered offerings and sales of tokens, and failing to register as an exchange or broker-dealer. The commission also went after Coinbase on similar grounds, alleging that popular cryptocurrencies offered by the exchange are securities. Trading volume across the major decentralized exchanges jumped 444% in the hours following the legal actions. In the six months after FTX’s bankruptcy, SEC crypto-related enforcement actions rose 183%.

SEC lawsuits: 67 cryptocurrencies are now seen as securities by the SEC

The total number of cryptocurrencies the United States securities regulator has labeled as a “security” has now reached an estimated 67, after adding a few more to the list in its lawsuit against crypto exchanges Binance and Coinbase. In its case against Binance, the SEC introduced 10 cryptocurrencies into the securities classification, while it named 13 cryptocurrencies in its Coinbase suit. The “security” label now applies to over $100 billion worth of the market, or around 10% of the $1.09 trillion total crypto market capitalization.

Coinbase CEO’s stock sale was probably not planned to occur a day ahead of SEC suit

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong sold company shares the day before the SEC lawsuit against the exchange. The transaction caused a minor stir in the Twitter cryptoverse, as Armstrong avoided a sharp loss by doing so. SEC records show that Armstrong sold 29,730 shares of the company on June 5, the day before the SEC suit. Armstrong has been selling Coinbase stock regularly since November under a 10b5-1 plan adopted in August, which determines the timing and size of transactions in advance. The net…