Circle admitted by judge as amicus curiae in SEC vs Binance lawsuit: Report

A senior judge in the Columbian district court has reportedly signed multiple orders to clear pending motions in the ongoing lawsuit filed by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission against the crypto exchange Binance ahead of the crucial hearing.

Among the key orders, the judge cleared an amicus brief filed by USD Coin (USDC) stablecoin issuer Circle right before the key hearing on Oct. 12. Circle filed a court motion on Sept. 29 in the ongoing SEC vs Binance lawsuit and had argued that assets pegged to the U.S. dollar, such as USDC, are not securities.

Circle at the time said that the buyers of these stablecoins do not expect any profit from acquiring them. According to Circle, payment stablecoins do not have the “features of an investment contract” on their own.

Judge Amy Berman Jackson accepted Circle as amicus curiae in support of neither party in the defendants Binance and CEO CZ’s motions to dismiss the lawsuit. The court also reminded that the amicus curiae may only participate in oral argument after the court’s permission.

An amicus curiae is a person or group that is not a party to a legal dispute but is permitted to assist the court by providing information, expertise, or insight into the problems in the case. The court has the power to decide whether to consider an amicus brief.

Related: SEC sees temporary setback in request to access Binance.US software

The SEC filed a lawsuit against Binance on June 5, filing a total of 13 charges against the cryptocurrency exchange. Charges include unregistered securities sales of BNB and BUSD tokens. The SEC also argues that Binance failed to register as a broker-dealer clearing service and that it operated illegally in the United States.

On Sept. 22, Binance and its CEO, Changpeng Zhao, petitioned the court to dismiss the SEC lawsuit alleging that the SEC had overstepped its powers. Binance and Zhao’s lawyers stated in a petition that the SEC failed to establish clear norms for the sector before the exchange’s litigation and imposed its jurisdiction over the business retrospectively.

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