Binance.US, the operator of the Binance.US cryptocurrency exchange, has issued a response to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), denouncing most of the SEC’s requests as “unreasonable” and “unduly burdensome.”
In sealed documents filed on September 12, attorneys for BAM Trading Services, the defendant in this case, argued against the SEC’s motion to compel, which sought additional information from Binance.US.
The defendants contended that the SEC’s demands for production and interrogatories were overly broad and beyond the scope of the consent order. They particularly objected to the SEC’s requests for depositions of BAM’s CEO Brian Shroder and Chief Financial Officer Jasmine Lee, deeming them “unreasonable.” The attorneys asserted that Shroder and Lee had no unique knowledge concerning the topics identified in the consent order’s expedited discovery provision, which were relevant to the custody and transfer of customer assets at Binance.US.
Furthermore, the defense team argued that the SEC had no evidence to support its allegations that customer assets were improperly diverted, characterizing these claims as “misleading and mistaken.” They highlighted a “complete disconnect” between the SEC’s approach and the limited expedited discovery agreed upon in the consent order.
BAM’s response came shortly after both the SEC and Binance agreed to a protective motion, stipulating that confidential information would be filed under seal. This arrangement restricts access to protected materials, making them available only to specific parties such as the judge, attorneys, plaintiffs, and defendants.