The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Designates 12 Tokens as Securities
Today, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has explicitly categorized 12 tokens as securities in its ongoing lawsuit against Binance, its CEO Changpeng Zhao, and Binance U.S.
List of Tokens Classified as Securities
- BNB (BNB)
- Binance USD stablecoin (BUSD)
- Solana (SOL)
- Cardano (ADA)
- Polygon (MATIC)
- Filecoin (FIL)
- Cosmos Hub (ATOM)
- The Sandbox (SAND)
- Decentraland (MANA)
- Algorand (ALGO)
- Axie Infinity (AXS)
- Coti (COTI)
“Since the Binance Platforms launched, Defendants have made available for trading on them crypto assets that are offered and sold as investment contracts, and thus as securities,” stated the SEC in the lawsuit. The commission clarified that the list of tokens named is not exhaustive.
SEC’s Approach Towards Ethereum (ETH)
Interestingly, the SEC did not include ether (ETH) as a security in the lawsuit. During a lengthy hearing in April, SEC Chair Gary Gensler refrained from explicitly classifying ETH, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, as a security. Gensler had previously commented to New York Magazine that “everything other than bitcoin” is considered a security.
Allegations Against Binance and Affiliated Companies
The SEC’s lawsuit accuses Binance and its affiliated companies of repeated deception of customers and diverting funds to a separate investment fund owned by Changpeng Zhao, echoing similar allegations made against Binance’s former rival FTX and its founder Sam Bankman-Fried. This enforcement action by the SEC follows a related suit filed in March by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission against Binance.
