The Terraform Labs Precedent
The SEC’s recent victory against Terraform Labs in the Southern District of New York has set a significant precedent in the ongoing battle to classify various digital assets as securities. The court ruling determined that the UST, LUNA, wLUNA, and MIR tokens issued by Terraform Labs qualify as securities, reinforcing the SEC’s stance on the matter.
This landmark decision has emboldened the SEC’s enforcement actions against prominent cryptocurrency exchanges, including Binance and Coinbase. The agency is leveraging this ruling to bolster its legal arguments in separate lawsuits against these platforms.
The Coinbase Case
In the ongoing lawsuit against Coinbase, the SEC has cited the Terraform Labs ruling as relevant evidence to counter Coinbase’s motion for a favorable judgment. While the SEC’s complaint does not directly mention the Terraform tokens, it focuses on a different group of digital assets traded on Coinbase, including Solana, Cardano, Polygon, Filecoin, The Sandbox, Axie Infinity, Chiliz, FLOW, Internet Computer, Near Protocol, VGX, DASH, and Nexo.
The SEC contends that these tokens should be classified as unregistered securities, aligning with the court’s assessment of the Terraform tokens.
The Binance Case
Similarly, in the parallel lawsuit against Binance, the SEC is attempting to leverage the Terraform Labs judgment to strengthen its position. In a separate filing, the agency has urged the Washington D.C. court to consider the Terraform ruling while evaluating Binance’s request to dismiss the case.
The SEC drew parallels between Terraform Labs’ arguments and Binance’s current defense, highlighting their attempts to distinguish the sale of tokens from the development and promotion of their respective protocols. The agency believes the court’s analysis of Terraform’s so-called “stablecoin” UST is particularly relevant to assessing Binance’s BUSD stablecoin, as well as its staking-as-a-service offerings, including BNB Vault and Simple Earn programs.
Potential Implications and Regulatory Clarity
The SEC’s strategic use of the Terraform Labs precedent underscores the agency’s determination to establish regulatory clarity in the cryptocurrency space. By leveraging this ruling, the SEC aims to strengthen its position and apply consistent standards across various digital asset offerings.
As the legal battles unfold, the outcomes could have far-reaching implications for the cryptocurrency industry. If the SEC prevails, it may prompt a broader reclassification of numerous digital assets as securities, subjecting them to stringent registration and disclosure requirements.
As illustrated in the diagram, the Terraform Labs ruling sets a precedent for the SEC’s enforcement actions against Coinbase and Binance. The outcomes of these cases could lead to the potential reclassification of digital assets as securities, ultimately providing regulatory clarity and promoting compliance within the cryptocurrency industry.
