SEC Lawsuits Against Coinbase and Binance Rock Crypto Markets

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed charges against Binance and Coinbase for violating securities laws. The SEC accuses both exchanges of operating securities exchanges and selling digital assets that should have been registered. Coinbase is also accused of operating as an unregistered broker. Binance is accused of funneling billions of dollars of customer money to a company owned separately by its CEO, Changpeng Zhao, and misleading investors about the adequacy of its systems to detect and control manipulative trading. Both exchanges deny the charges and plan to fight back. The industry hopes that new legislation will legitimize the industry, but regulation may be slow.