FILE PHOTO: Smartphone with displayed Binance logo and representation of cryptocurrencies are placed on a keyboard in this illustration taken, June 8, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
(Reuters) - A federal judge in Washington, D.C., on Thursday put the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's civil lawsuit against Binance on hold for 60 days, granting a joint request by the regulator and the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange.
U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson issued her order after both parties on Monday said a new SEC task force to review cryptocurrency regulation may "impact and facilitate the potential resolution of this case."
Created last month, the SEC task force is led by Republican Commissioner Hester Peirce, a strong cryptocurrency supporter.
The SEC sued Binance and founder Changpeng Zhao in June 2023, accusing the exchange of artificially inflating trading volumes, diverting customer funds and misleading investors about its surveillance controls.
President Donald Trump, a Republican, has pledged to make the United States a global hub for the cryptocurrency industry.
He has nominated Paul Atkins, a Washington lawyer seen as crypto-friendly, to become SEC chair.
Atkins would replace Gary Gensler, who drew much industry opposition for favoring greater cryptocurrency regulation and reining in what he called the industry's "Wild West" mentality.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Nia Williams)
