Federal Judge Grants Binance.US Approval to Invest Customer Assets in Treasury Bills

Binance's U.S. affiliate has received approval from a federal judge to invest certain customer assets in U.S. Treasury bills, according to Reuters. This order removes restrictions previously imposed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), as stated by the affiliate on Friday. The order specifies that Binance.US will transfer cryptocurrency assets to a third-party custodian not affiliated with the exchange.

Additionally, Binance.US operator BAM has been permitted to invest certain customer fiat funds, custodied at the crypto custody firm BitGo, in U.S. Treasury bills. These funds will mature on a rolling four-week basis, with the condition that no third parties, including Binance entities, are involved in the investment, according to the court order.

The SEC had sued Binance, its CEO and founder Changpeng Zhao, and Binance.US's operator in June of the previous year. The SEC's allegations included claims that Binance artificially inflated its trading volumes, diverted customer funds, failed to restrict U.S. customers from its platform, and misled investors about its market surveillance controls.

Later that month, Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, and Binance.US entered into an agreement with the SEC to ensure that U.S. customer assets would remain in the United States