Binance US Delists Crypto Token ‘out of an Abundance of Caution’ After SEC Says It’s a Security

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Binance’s U.S. platform is delisting crypto token amp after the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) declared it a security. Another crypto exchange, Coinbase, disagreed with the regulator, arguing that the token is not a security.

Binance Delists AMP ‘out of an Abundance of Caution’

Binance’s U.S. exchange (Binance US) is taking action to ensure that crypto tokens the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has declared to be securities are not listed on its platform. The SEC recently said in a lawsuit against a former Coinbase product manager that nine crypto tokens are securities. They are AMP, RLY, DDX, XYO, RGT, LCX, POWR, DFX, and KROM.

Binance US explained:

In its suit, the SEC named nine digital assets that it alleges are securities. Of those nine tokens, only amp (AMP) is listed on the Binance.US platform.

“Out of an abundance of caution, we have decided to delist the AMP token from Binance.US, effective August 15, 2022,” the crypto exchange announced Monday.

Binance US detailed that on Aug. 15, AMP deposits on its platform will be closed at 9:00 p.m. EDT and the AMP/USD trading pair will be removed at 11:00 p.m. EDT. “All trade orders will be automatically removed after trading ceases for the trading pair,” the announcement states.

The exchange clarified that it is taking this step until more clarity exists around the classification of the cryptocurrency, adding that the coin could resume trading at some point in the future.

The price of AMP fell sharply following the delisting announcement by Binance US. At the time of writing, AMP is trading at $0.0081411, down 11% in the past 24 hours.

While Binance US has taken a cautious approach to crypto tokens that may be deemed securities by the SEC, the Nasdaq-listed cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has chosen to fight the securities regulator.

Following the lawsuit against its former employee, Coinbase published a blog post stating that it does not list any securities. The exchange’s chief legal officer, Paul Grewal, wrote: “Coinbase does not list securities on its platform. End of story.” The executive also criticized the SEC, stating: “Instead of having a dialogue with us about the seven assets on our platform, the SEC jumped directly to litigation.”

Last week, reports surfaced that the SEC could be investigating Coinbase over its listings of crypto securities.

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