SEC quietly closes investigation into Paxos – no securities charges against BUSD

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has concluded its investigation into Paxos, the issuer of the stablecoin Binance USD (BUSD), without recommending any enforcement action, Jorge Tenreiro, Deputy Chief of the SECs Crypto Asset and Cyber Unit, told Fortune.

The decision marks a significant turn in the ongoing debate over whether stablecoins should be classified as securities.

Initially triggered by a Wells notice concerning the BUSD stablecoin issued by Paxos in collaboration with Binance, the SECs retreat follows a recent court ruling favoring Binance, which dismissed a key securities charge against the exchange.

“The termination of this investigation formally is an enormous relief for us,” Walter Hessert, head of strategy at Paxos, told Fortune, adding that this resolution might foster greater market certainty among large enterprises exploring the stablecoin space.

Despite the SECs non-committal stance on public comments, the closure of this high-profile case could influence future regulatory approaches to similar crypto assets in the US.