On June 7, attorneys from Gibson Dunn and Latham & Watkins, two of Binance’s law firms, made a court filing in response to the latest SEC crackdown.
In it, they claim that SEC Chair Gary Gensler offered to serve as an advisor to Binance’s parent company in 2019.
According to the filing, Gensler met with Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao in Japan in March to discuss the proposal.
🚨BREAKING: SEC’s Gary Gensler applied to serve as an advisor for Binance in 2019
So…
2019: He applies to become an advisor to Binance
2019: He is rejected (my guess)
2021: He becomes the SEC’s chairman
2022: Says that Binance “is operating illegally in the US”
2023: SEC… pic.twitter.com/rMDqk08kYJ
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) June 7, 2023
At the time, Gary Gensler was teaching at Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Sloan School of Management.
This is when he famously told students in 2018 that most of the crypto market was not securities. “Three-quarters of the market is non-securities. It is just a commodity, a cash crypto,” he said at the time.
Five years later, he has made a complete u-turn, labeling most of the crypto market as securities.
According to Binance lawyers, Gensler was “trying to cozy up to the company” before he unleashed his attack on the firm and its chief utive.
CNBC reported that Gensler and CZ maintained contact throughout 2019. He became chair of the SEC in 2021, commencing his crackdown on the industry the following year.
Gensler has been on the warpath this year, with his ultimate goal to crush crypto in the United States. Earlier this week, he said that America doesn’t need digital assets because it has the dollar.
The SEC has also ordered the freezing of all Binance.US assets to prevent flights offshore. Industry experts have noted the irony in that by trying to “protect investors,” the SEC has actually caused them to lose millions.
CZ was sent a summons by a U.S. court this week, however, not being a U.S. citizen means that he doesn’t have to appear in person.
Since the enforcement action earlier this week, BNB prices have lost around 16%. The asset had dropped 7% on the day in a fall to $260 at the time of writing.
However, BNB is still faring much better than many other cryptocurrencies have dropped just 62% from its peak price. Ripple’s XRP by comparison is down 85% from its all-time high as the firm is also in a battle with the SEC.
