A Reuters article states that a federal judge in Washington, D.C. has ordered Binance, the largest global crypto exchange in terms of trading volume, to present a strong argument in favor of its request to have a lawsuit dismissed. This legal action, initiated by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), accuses Binance of violating regulations and committing fraud. The lawsuit represents one of the last major legal hurdles for Binance in the US and includes accusations of market manipulation and the handling of ‘unregistered securities.’ Bitcoinist conveyed that, according to accusations made in June by the SEC, Binance along with its ex-CEO Changpeng Zhao, and the company’s US subsidiary were involved in falsely inflating trade volumes, mishandling client assets, not adequately preventing US customers from accessing its services, and deceiving investors about its market monitoring mechanisms. Moreover, the commission alleged that Binance unlawfully enabled transactions of several cryptocurrencies which should have been registered as securities. In related news, Cardano has joined the ranks of the top 10 NFT blockchains, raising the question of whether it has the potential to surpass the industry leaders. Reuters reports that in a recent court session, the judge questioned the legal team of the exchange about a key point they presented for dropping the case: the assertion that the SEC does not have the power to oversee the particular cryptocurrency assets in question because they do not conform to the criteria of an investment contract. Although the 1933 Securities Act specifies what constitutes a “security,” it is common for legal authorities to look to a Supreme Court decision in the US as a guide to decide if an investment offering should be classified as such. Conflicts arose between Binance’s attorney and the judge over the issue of SEC regulation. During the hearing, Judge Amy Berman Jackson questioned the legal team for Binance about their stance on the need for fresh regulations in the cryptocurrency industry and how this position fits with established case law that indicates securities laws are intended to be flexible and protective of investors. Reporting from the scene, journalist Eleanor Terret conveyed that a Binance attorney said to Judge Jackson, “The world does not exist in a state of emptiness that requires filling by SEC rules.” The attorney representing Binance argued that tokens associated with decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) ought to be classified as investment contracts because of the system where holding tokens grants one voting rights. According to Terret, Judge Berman Jackson displayed a significant divergence in approach compared to Judge Failla’s handling of the recent Coinbase case, as she intensely examined the legal counsel of Binance throughout the court session. Furthermore, Binance’s legal challenges are not limited to the ongoing lawsuit with the SEC. In the previous year, the trading platform reached a financial agreement worth $4.3 billion with the United States Department of Justice and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission due to violations connected with illegal financial activities. Changpeng Zhao, the former chief executive officer, admitted to violating American anti-money laundering regulations as a component of the agreement and agreed to relinquish his executive role. In other news, someone with inside knowledge of Ethereum has charged the founder with ‘erasing history’—but the context of the accusation is unclear. During the ongoing legal process, the trading platform is required to put forth a strong defense to counter the claims of deceit and market tampering made by the Securities and Exchange Commission.