Following the Coinbase hearing, the Binance court session commenced, starting off on a less positive note. The judge’s stance differed significantly from his colleague in the previous case, raising concerns about the outcome.
Bitcoin‘s price continues to drop, with the potential to break the $40,400 support as the hearing unfolds. The judge appears unsympathetic to Binance’s lawyer’s pleas for fair trial considerations, indicating a challenging legal battle ahead.
The Binance lawyer’s admission that DAO tokens could be considered securities due to their structure suggests both Binance and Coinbase could be implicated in unregistered securities trading. This could establish a precedent for the sale of DAO tokens as securities.
If the SEC adopts this view, significant losses could occur for DAO tokens. Both exchanges facilitate the trading of these tokens, which could be at risk if regulatory actions intensify.
Popular DAO tokens such as ICP, UNI, LDO, ARB, MKR, AAVE, ENS, CRV, and APE represent a cumulative value of approximately $30 billion. With over 100 tokens in this category, the potential impact of the court’s decision is substantial, affecting a wide array of popular protocols.