Nikhilesh De Nikhilesh De is CoinDesk's managing editor for global policy and regulation. He owns marginal amounts of bitcoin and ether. Follow @ nikhileshde on Twitter A U. S. Securities and Exchange official said agency staff believe Binance US is operating an unregistered securities exchange in the U. S. , and that staff believe the sale of VGX tokens by Voyager Digital violated federal securities laws. Speaking at a bankruptcy hearing to determine if Voyager should be sold to Binance US, SEC Senior Trial Attorney William Uptegrove said he was responding to Judge Michael Wiles, of the Southern District Bankruptcy Court in New York, who said at the outset of the hearing that the SEC had provided little guidance or specifics about its objection to the Voyager sale. "The staff believes – based solely on the facts and circumstances currently known to the staff – that the offering and sale of VGX tokens has the attributes of a securities transaction," he said. "The staff also believes that Binance US is operating an unregistered securities exchange in the United States. " The official noted that SEC staff's views don't necessarily reflect the views of the five commissioners at the head of the agency. He did not say whether the SEC had any enforcement actions in the works tied to his declaration. "The commission has not made any determinations on either of these issues," he said. "The staff beliefs do not represent the [view] of the commission. " Typically, an enforcement action by the SEC is started by the staff, but needs a majority of commissioners to vote in favor to proceed. Binance US did not immediately return a request for comment. Uptegrove's comments echo SEC Chair Gary Gensler , who has said in the past that he believes a majority of crypto trading platforms should be registered as national securities exchanges, which would see them operate under the agency's disclosure and compliance regime. Read more: Voyager Bankruptcy Judge Says He Is ‘Absolutely Shocked’ by SEC Objection to Binance. US Deal UPDATE (March 3, 2023, 23:25 UTC): Adds additional information. DISCLOSURE Please note that our privacy policy , terms of use , cookies , and do not sell my personal information has been updated . The leader in news and information on cryptocurrency, digital assets and the future of money, CoinDesk is a media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies . CoinDesk is an independent operating subsidiary of Digital Currency Group , which invests in cryptocurrencies and blockchain startups . As part of their compensation, certain CoinDesk employees, including editorial employees, may receive exposure to DCG equity in the form of stock appreciation rights , which vest over a multi-year period. CoinDesk journalists are not allowed to purchase stock outright in DCG . Nikhilesh De Nikhilesh De is CoinDesk's managing editor for global policy and regulation. He owns marginal amounts of bitcoin and ether. Follow @ nikhileshde on Twitter Learn more about Consensus 2023 , CoinDesk’s longest-running and most influential event that brings together all sides of crypto, blockchain and Web3. Head to consensus. coindesk. com to register and buy your pass now. Nikhilesh De Nikhilesh De is CoinDesk's managing editor for global policy and regulation. He owns marginal amounts of bitcoin and ether. Follow @ nikhileshde on Twitter.