Binance wins dismissal of class action over 2018 tokens that t | Chill Crypto | News | Bitcoin

Binance wins dismissal of class action over 2018 tokens that tanked

The judge ruled domestic law doesn’t apply to Binance as it is not an exchange domestic to the United States and that the case was filed “too late.”

A federal judge has dismissed a class action complaint asserting Binance violated United States securities laws by not registering as a broker-dealer or exchange and sold crypto tokens that were not registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

The original complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York was brought by a group of investors who say they invested in the tokens EOS, BNT, SNT, QSP, KNC, TRX, FUN, ICX, OMG, LEND, ELF and CVC around 2017 and 2018. An amended complaint was filed, only listing nine tokens, with BNT, SMT and CVC removed.

The investors said the tokens had lost much of their value since purchasing and were seeking compensation for the price paid for the tokens and the fees paid to Binance in connection with their purchases.

“Binance and the Issuers wrongfully engaged in millions of transactions, including the solicitation, offer, and sale of securities, without registering the Tokens as securities, and without Binance registering with the SEC as an exchange or broker-dealer. As a result, investors were not informed of the significant risks inherent in these investments, as federal and state securities laws require.”

The investors further claimed that Binance capitalized on the enthusiasm brought on by cryptocurrencies, marketing tokens and initial coin offerings (ICOs) on behalf of projects and profited off the associated trading fees, adding that investors “purchased the tokens with a reasonable expectation of profit from owning them.”

In his decision on Thursday, judge Andrew Carter said that as the investors waited more than a year after purchasing the tokens to file the complaint, they had sued too late. Most of the tokens were purchased in 2018 and the original filing wasn’t until April 2020.