Legal representatives acting on behalf of Binance and its CEO, Changpeng Zhao (CZ) have submitted supporting statements in pursuit of a motion aimed at dismissing the lawsuit filed by the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in March.
In a filling dated 23 October, lodged with the United States (US) District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, attorneys representing CZ and Binance presented a comprehensive array of legal contentions advocating for the dismissal of the CFTC's case against the cryptocurrency exchange.
Central to their arguments is the assertion that the regulator's claims, if upheld by the court, possess the potential to confer upon it a pervasive mandate to regulate a broad spectrum of cryptocurrency activities connected to derivatives products worldwide.
The filling stated:
"Congress did not make the CFTC the world’s derivatives police, and the Court should reject the agency’s effort to expand its territorial reach beyond what is permitted by the law."
Additionally, the legal teams associated with Binance and CZ scrutinised each of the individual counts brought by the CFTC, emphasising that the regulator was pursuing an innovative legal theory in its anti-evasion claim while simultaneously falling short of the requisite legal standards in other aspects.
Consequently, they urged the court to "dismiss the Complaint with prejudice."
The CFTC's lawsuit, initially filed in March, contended that Binance had violated rules governing derivatives trading by failing to register with the regulatory body.
The CFTC further alleged that CZ was cognizant of Binance's efforts to solicit customers located in the US, a circumstance that imposed a duty upon the exchange to adhere to the applicable regulatory obligations.
It is noteworthy that Binance's legal team previously submitted a similar motion in July to dismiss the case, emphasising at that time that the CFTC had overstepped its regulatory authority.
Notably, Binance is concurrently contending with a lawsuit brought forth by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in June.