SEC files motion for restraining order to freeze Binance US assets

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission logo and representations of cryptocurrency are seen in this illustration taken June 6, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday requested a federal court put in place a temporary restraining order to freeze the U.S. assets of cryptocurrency exchange Binance.

The motion, in a filing to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, comes a day after U.S. regulators sued Binance and its CEO Changpeng Zhao for allegedly operating a "web of deception," piling further pressure on the world's biggest cryptocurrency exchange.

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh; editing by Tim Ahmann)