SEC quietly closes investigation into Paxos – no securities charges against BUSD

The latest decision potentially shapes future crypto regulations.

Shutterstock photo by Golubovy

Key Takeaways

The SEC has concluded its investigation into Paxos, recommending no enforcement action. This decision follows a court ruling that dismissed a key securities charge against Binance. <?xml encoding="UTF-8"?>

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has concluded its investigation into Paxos, the issuer of the stablecoin Binance USD (BUSD), without recommending any enforcement action, Jorge Tenreiro, Deputy Chief of the SEC’s Crypto Asset and Cyber Unit, told Fortune.

The decision marks a significant turn in the ongoing debate over whether stablecoins should be classified as securities.

Initially triggered by a Wells notice concerning the BUSD stablecoin issued by Paxos in collaboration with Binance, the SEC’s retreat follows a recent court ruling favoring Binance, which dismissed a key securities charge against the exchange.

“The termination of this investigation formally is an enormous relief for us,” Walter Hessert, head of strategy at Paxos, told Fortune, adding that this resolution might foster greater market certainty among large enterprises exploring the stablecoin space.

Despite the SEC’s non-committal stance on public comments, the closure of this high-profile case could influence future regulatory approaches to similar crypto assets in the US.

This is a developing story. We’ll give updates on the situation as we learn more.

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