Today in crypto, the SEC dropped its lawsuit against Binance, the US Congress has introduced a comprehensive bipartisan crypto market structure bill, and Bybit secured regulatory approval under the EU’s crypto framework.
SEC drops Binance lawsuit
The US Securities and Exchange Commission asked a Washington, DC, federal court on May 29 to allow it to drop its long-running lawsuit against crypto exchange Binance and its founder, Changpeng Zhao.
The SEC said in a joint motion with Binance and Zhao that it believed dropping the suit was appropriate “in the exercise of its discretion and as a policy matter.” The agency had paused the action in February, saying that the work of its Crypto Task Force could see it put an end to the case.
The SEC sued Binance, Zhao and the exchange’s US-based arm, BAM Trading, in June 2023, alleging they violated securities law, mishandled customer funds and misled customers.
Binance and Zhao settled a separate case with the Justice Department in November 2023, agreeing to pay a $4.3 billion fine and admitting that the company violated sanctions, was an unlicensed money transmitter and failed to implement appropriate Anti-Money Laundering measures.
Zhao spent four months in jail after admitting to violating money laundering laws as part of the deal. He was also forced to step down as CEO.
It’s the SEC’s latest backdown from the crypto industry under the Trump administration, with the regulator abandoning or settling its actions against crypto companies including Coinbase, Consensus and Kraken.
US lawmakers introduce bipartisan regulatory framework for digital assets
US Representative French Hill has announced the introduction of the much-awaited market structure bill for digital assets. The “Digital Asset Market Clarity Act of 2025” or “CLARITY Act of 2025” comes with support from lawmakers across both sides of the aisle, including three Democratic co-sponsors.
The bill covers the roles of both the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) on digital assets oversight, seeking to resolve longstanding questions about which agency oversees which types of digital assets.
“I am proud to introduce the bipartisan CLARITY Act with my colleagues,” Hill said in a May 29 statement. “Our bill brings long-overdue clarity to the digital asset ecosystem, prioritizes consumer protection and American innovation, and builds off our work in the 118th Congress.”
Under the CLARITY Act, developers would be required to provide accurate and relevant disclosures detailing a project’s operation, ownership, and structure.
The bill also introduces new compliance requirements for customer-facing firms such as brokers and dealers, including clear disclosures to customers, segregation of customer assets from company funds, and mitigation of conflicts of interest through strict registration, transparency, and operational standards.
Bybit secures MiCA license in Austria, opens EU base in Vienna
Bybit has obtained a MiCA license from Austria’s Financial Market Authority (FMA), allowing the exchange to expand into the European market.
The approval allows Bybit EU, registered under commercial number 636180i, to operate as a regulated crypto asset service provider (CASP) and extend its services across all 29 European Economic Area member states.
As part of its expansion, Bybit has officially established its European headquarters in Vienna, Austria, according to a May 29 news release shared with Cointelegraph.
The move enables the platform to serve nearly 500 million Europeans under MiCA’s harmonized framework, which is designed to promote regulatory consistency, prevent illicit activity and protect consumers.
“Securing the MiCAR license in Austria is a testament to our compliance-first approach at Bybit,” said Ben Zhou, co-founder and CEO of Bybit. “We are actively collaborating with regulators and pursuing licenses globally to ensure our users can access our innovative platform with the highest levels of regulatory and compliance assurance.”
