As the SEC Binance case winds down, did the Binance lawsuit already do the damage?
How did the decision by SEC Binance to close the Binance lawsuit coincide with Binance losing over 30% of its global trading volume between 2023 and April 2025?
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The SEC vs Binance battle fades as the SEC lawsuit against Binance gets quietly buried
The 2023 Binance lawsuit became the most aggressive move in the SEC against Binance agenda
Investor reaction to the SEC’s dismissal was muted. Markets had been anticipating a resolution for months. Resultantly, Binance’s BNB token (BNB) rose marginally, up about 0.5%, indicating that the outcome was largely priced in.
The SEC Binance lawsuit is gone — the tension isn’t
The tone set by the SEC still echoes
After nearly two years of courtroom tension, regulatory scrutiny, and public debate, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has formally withdrawn its civil lawsuit against Binance and its founder, Changpeng “CZ” Zhao.
The decision, filed jointly by lawyers from both sides on May 29, in a Washington, D.C. federal court, marks a striking conclusion to one of the most high-profile legal battles in crypto’s recent history.
The case was dismissed with prejudice, meaning it cannot be refiled, a rare outcome in regulatory disputes of this scale.
Binance, which processed an estimated $7.35 trillion in trading volume during 2024 despite operating under a legal cloud in the U.S., called the outcome a “landmark moment.”
The SEC, in its official statement, said the dismissal was appropriate “in the exercise of its discretion and as a policy matter.”
However, the filing also clarified that the move “does not reflect [the SEC’s] view on other crypto litigation,” leaving the door open for different approaches in other ongoing cases.
The dismissal comes just four months after President Donald Trump returned to the White House and appointed Paul Atkins, a known advocate of market-friendly regulation, as the new SEC Chairman.
Under the previous administration led by Gary Gensler, the SEC had adopted a much stricter posture toward crypto firms, aggressively pursuing enforcement actions against major platforms including Binance and Coinbase.
In February 2025, the SEC quietly requested a 60-day pause in the Binance proceedings, hinting at the possibility of a negotiated off-ramp, a signal that became clearer after the SEC also dropped its case against Coinbase that same month.
While the SEC has not elaborated on the reasons behind its reversals, critics have raised concerns over the optics of selective disengagement.
Some argue that this shift risks creating the impression that regulatory pressure in crypto can be turned on or off depending on political alignment.
A group of House Democrats recently cited a separate case involving Justin Sun, the founder of TRON (TRX), whose SEC fraud charges were reportedly dropped after he invested $75 million in a Trump-linked venture.
These critics fear such outcomes may set a precedent where influence or timing, rather than legal merit, shapes enforcement.
Still, the precise terms behind Binance’s legal resolution remain unclear. No fines or admissions were added as part of the dismissal motion, and no quid pro quo has been disclosed.
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