Morrison Cohen Files Amicus Brief in U.S. Supreme Court on Behalf of The Crypto Council for Innovation in Support of Binance’s Petition for Certiorari

On October 25, 2024, Morrison Cohen, on behalf of client The Crypto Council for Innovation, filed an amicus curiae brief in the U.S. Supreme Court in support of Binance Holdings Limited and Changpeng Zhao’s petition for a writ of certiorari. In the underlying litigation, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit held that certain transactions were sufficiently “domestic” because buyers and sellers were “matched” on servers located in California. The Second Circuit thus ruled that the extraterritoriality doctrine set forth in the Supreme Court’s landmark Morrison v. Nat’l Australia Bank Ltd. decision did not bar plaintiffs’ claims.

The amicus details how internet and blockchain transactions work; notably, because there is no centralized control over a blockchain, “nodes” (computers and devices that participate to perform different blockchain functions) may be located all around the world, completely unbeknownst to most users.  The amicus argues that if the Second Circuit’s holding were to stand, the Morrison doctrine “would be eviscerated, leading to devastating consequences for the blockchain industry, an array of other American businesses, and foundational principles of comity.”

Companies and countries around the globe integrate and rely on blockchain infrastructure to capitalize on the benefits of decentralization. If they had to identify where nodes that verify transactions are located, for the purpose of assessing their jurisdictional reach – even if that were possible – “it would derail not just U.S.-based blockchain infrastructure, but entire businesses and business initiatives.”

Jason Gottlieb, Daniel Isaacs, Michael Mix, Rachel Fleder, Vani Upadhyaya, and Emma McGrath drafted the amicus brief.