The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed a sealed motion in the case against the Binance cryptocurrency exchange. It allows you to store secret or confidential information without disclosing its contents publicly.
The motion includes more than 35 exhibits, a statement from trial attorney Jennifer Farer and a proposed order.
“Filing court papers classified as secret is a rare move by the SEC,” John Reed Stark, a former commission official, wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
Stark has two versions of why the regulator decided to file court documents under seal.
In the first case, SEC evidence may reveal details of a criminal investigation being conducted by the US Department of Justice. In the second, the regulator does not want to put witnesses or the individual company acting as a witness at risk.
“In my nearly 20 years at the SEC, I cannot recall anyone attempting to file a motion or any other legal document under seal,” Stark said.
In June 2023, the SEC filed a lawsuit against Binance and its founder Changpeng Zhao. They were accused of violating US securities regulations. Binance subsequently filed a counterclaim against the SEC over the allegedly false allegations.
