At a hearing in the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) case against the largest cryptocurrency exchange, representatives of the regulator and Binance argued about the nature of virtual assets.

Binance lawyers announced that a virtual asset can only be considered a security if a real contract has been concluded for it. According to lawyers, the SEC has not provided evidence that Binance tokens and services are securities. Thus, the promotion of assets is not a sign of securities, since almost every business engages in marketing for the sake of its own development in the market.

D.C. Judge Amy Berman Jackson countered with lawyers that case law allows for a broader interpretation of the securities issue. There are doubts, the judge said, that Binance is correctly interpreting the Howey test definition.

The judge asked SEC representatives about the criticism that the cryptocurrency community constantly receives from the regulator. Representatives of the Commission stand their ground: the SEC regularly issues recommendations for the cryptocurrency market that US securities laws should not be violated. The regulator continues to insist: Binance’s promotion of BNB and BUSD tokens created unjustified expectations among customers who purchased the tokens.

Meanwhile, cryptocurrency investors are regaining their trust in Binance, which two months ago pledged to pay a multibillion-dollar fine to US authorities.