Airdrop Army

The SEC just pulled a fast one. After whisperings this summer that they might cool off on their vendetta against Solana, they’re now flipping the script. The regulator’s goin’ full throttle, callin’ out SOL as an illegal unregistered security and draggin’ Binance back into the ring.

In a sneaky move this week, they yanked out some hot language around “crypto asset securities” in their latest amended complaint. But don’t get it twisted, the SEC ain’t lettin’ go of Solana. They’re piling on, claiming Binance played fast and loose, lettin’ folks trade SOL like it wasn’t a big deal, all while pretending it’s not a security.

Solana Gets Singled Out

The SEC dropped the hammer, pointin’ fingers at the Solana Foundation for gassin’ up U.S. exchanges as the big score to pump SOL’s value. According to the regulator, this got SOL hodlers expecting fat gains. They’re sayin’ Solana Labs and the Foundation made it look like investing in SOL was a surefire way to stack sats from their hard work growin’ the protocol.

Sounds a lot like the ol’ Howey Test playbook: profits made off someone else’s grind. And the SEC’s not just targeting SOL. They’re roping in Cardano, Polygon, and a squad of other altcoins that got traded on Binance, painting ‘em all as renegade securities.

SEC Keeps the Heat On

So, the SEC took their shot back in July, hinting at dialing things down, which got the crypto gang all excited. But, surprise surprise, they came back swinging. Turns out, that was just a warm-up. Solana and its buddies aren’t getting off easy, and the SEC’s makin’ sure of that.

Binance has been caught in the SEC’s crosshairs since June 2023. They’ve been accused of runnin’ rogue—lettin’ folks trade unregistered tokens without following the feds’ playbook. The SEC’s takin’ it personal, claiming Binance knew what was up with these “securities” but decided to roll the dice anyway.

And now, it’s election szn in the U.S., so the SEC’s moves are getting some serious eyeballs. Trump and Kamala Harris are both spittin’ promises to rein in the watchdogs and let crypto breathe, but who knows if that’ll be enough to shake things up. Either way, SOL’s in the crosshairs, and Binance ain’t outta the woods yet.