In a packed Washington courtroom, Judge Amy Berman Jackson turned down a request for the assets of Binance US to be temporarily frozen. The judge said that the request was unnecessary at this time, giving Binance US needed reprieve to continue doing their business while the legal action with the SEC gets underway.

Judge Demanded proof that Binance US funds were moved

Reports from the courtroom said that the judge was interested in the SEC providing proofs that funds are actually moved from Binance US to its sister companies offshore. 

“I want to know if it’s happening or not” the judge asked SEC lawyers, adding that it is surprising that she had to ask the question without getting an impressive response from the lawyers representing the regulator.

SEC wanted Binance US assets frozen

SEC had filed for a temporary restraining order to freeze assets belonging to Binance US, but the judge said that a full restraining order is not practical, especially considering that the SEC lawyers have not been able to prove that no one outside Binance US has access to the private keys of funds held by Binance US.

Judge’s inclination towards a partial restraint

The judge said that she is more inclined to a partial restraint, which would grant the company enough funds to continue doing their business unhindered, and asked Binance US to submit a detailed list of its operational costs to the court.

SEC open to Binance US continuing to operate

The court wants the parties to come to a compromise so that Binance US operations can continue. Condesk reports that Jennifer Farer, a lawyer with the SEC said that they’re not opposed to Binance US continuing their business. 

“we are open to the business continuing to operate,” she said.

Binance US requested instead of a total freeze, the private key of its assets should be held only by Binance US officials.

A summary of the day’s proceedings by Crypto Tea, a Bitcoin enthusiast said, 

“The SEC request to freeze Binance US assets has been rejected. The court has ordered the SEC to work with Binance to protect customer assets while allowing business to continue as usual. The SEC is now asking for all US client funds to be moved to the US and not transferred out without their approval.

A win for Binance

Another enthusiast, @Trillioniam wrote,

“Yes it is a win, SEC is trying so hard to sell the narrative that “Binance” has or will mishandle customer funds, with no clear evidence of such activity in the past, present, or future from Binance. Really fascinating to watch… It is not about proving their case at this point, of which they have none, but destroying as much as possible the credibility of Binance, similar to what they tried with XRP while ETH was given a pass.”