Binance

2023 - 3 - 28

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Image courtesy of "The Straits Times"

Crypto giant Binance, CEO hit with US charges for breaking ... (The Straits Times)

Binance and its CEO and founder Zhao Changpeng were sued for operating an alleged “illegal” exchange. PHOTO: REUTERS. Updated. 48 sec ago. Published.

Binance traded on its own platform through some 300 “house accounts,” directly or indirectly owned by Zhao, though the exchange had not disclosed this activity in its public terms of use or elsewhere, according to CFTC. Reuters previously reported that this American firm, BAM Trading, was in fact controlled by Zhao and managed by Binance as a de-facto subsidiary. With a holding company based in the Cayman Islands, Binance has never revealed the location of its core exchange. The fourth item on the list was “Ignore FUD, fake news, attacks,” using an acronym for “fear, uncertainty and doubt” often used in crypto in relation to news perceived as negative. Reuters reported in December that the US Justice Department had been investigating Binance since 2018 for possible money-laundering and sanctions violations. Firms such as brokers that facilitate US customers’ trading of such products are required to be register with the agency.

CFTC Charges Binance and Its Founder, Changpeng Zhao, with ... (Commodity Futures Trading Commission)

Washington, D.C. — The Commodity Futures Trading Commission today announced it has filed a civil enforcement action in the U.S. District Court for the ...

According to the complaint, Zhao owned and controlled dozens of entities that operate the Binance platform as a common enterprise. Zhao is alleged to have been responsible for all major strategic decisions at Binance, including devising the secret plot to instruct U.S.-based VIP customers to evade Binance’s compliance controls and instructing Binance employees to ensure all communications about their control subversion took place over applications that facilitated the automatic destruction of evidence. The complaint further charges the Binance, Zhao and Lim with willful evasion of the requirements of the CEA. customers as well as other customers as to how to evade Binance’s compliance controls. The complaint also charges the entity defendants with failing to diligently supervise Binance’s activities as an FCM. customers from trading on its platform, Binance instructed its customers – in particular its commercially valuable U.S.-based VIP customers – on the best methods for evading Binance’s compliance controls. As alleged, Binance’s compliance program has been ineffective and, at Zhao’s direction, Binance has instructed its employees and customers to circumvent compliance controls in order to maximize corporate profits. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois charging Changpeng Zhao and three entities that operate the Binance platform with numerous violations of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) and CFTC regulations. I applaud the diligent and dedicated work of the CFTC’s Enforcement team in bringing this action, and for their hard work in addressing illegal operations in the digital asset space.” I have been clear that the CFTC will continue to use all of its authority to find and stop misconduct in the volatile and risky digital asset market,” said CFTC Chairman Rostin Behnam. The defendants’ own emails and chats reflect that Binance’s compliance efforts have been a sham and Binance deliberately chose – over and over – to place profits over following the law,” said Gretchen Lowe, CFTC’s Enforcement Division Principal Deputy Director and Chief Counsel. This should be a warning to anyone in the digital asset world that the CFTC will not tolerate willful avoidance of U.S.

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Image courtesy of "Financial Times"

Crypto exchange Binance accused by CFTC of illegally serving US ... (Financial Times)

A US financial regulator has accused Binance and its chief executive Changpeng Zhao of operating illegally in the country, in a lawsuit that seeks fines and ...

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Image courtesy of "Bloomberg"

Binance and Its CEO Sued by CFTC Over US Regulatory Violations (Bloomberg)

The US took its most forceful move yet on Monday to crack down on crypto exchange Binance Holdings Ltd. and its chief executive officer Changpeng Zhao.

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Image courtesy of "Reuters"

Factbox: Binance, world's top crypto exchange, at the center of US ... (Reuters)

The world's biggest cryptocurrency exchange Binance and its CEO Changpeng Zhao have been sued by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) over ...

Binance was founded by CEO Changpeng Zhao, a Canadian citizen born and raised until the age of 12 in China, and Yi He, former host of a Chinese TV travel show. It also sponsored the 2021 African Cup of Nations tournament. Binance has also not raised outside capital since 2018, industry data show, which means it has not had to share financial information with external investors since then. Binance's global trading platform, Binance.com, is by far the world's biggest cryptocurrency exchange. The company also boasts a formidable social media presence, with over 10 million Twitter followers. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) over regulatory violations, according to a

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Image courtesy of "CNN"

The US case against Binance calls out one of the worst-kept secrets ... (CNN)

If you live in America, you're not allowed to trade crypto derivatives. And if you're a big international platform for trading crypto derivatives, ...

The likely outcome, said Timothy Cradle, a crypto compliance and regulation expert at Blockchain Intelligence Group, will be that Binance ends up paying “hundreds of millions of dollars” in fines and will be prevented from registering a derivatives exchange in the future. (OK, most nights — we believe in a four-day work week around here.) (And like everything in this newsletter, that shouldn’t be taken as any kind of advice.) All anyone needs is a VPN and an iron stomach, because crypto derivatives are leveraged bets on wildly unstable assets. Binance has long argued that it isn’t subject to US laws because it doesn’t have a physical headquarters in America. But it’s not quite the seismic event that was FTX’s collapse, or even the Terra/Luna meltdown. Obviously, Binance took one look under the hood at FTX, now at the center of a massive federal fraud investigation, and promptly bailed.) [Silvergate](http://www.cnn.com/2023/03/08/business/silvergate-winds-down-crypto/index.html) and [Signature Bank.](http://www.cnn.com/2023/03/17/business/global-banking-crisis-explained/index.html) If you live in America, you’re not allowed to trade crypto derivatives. That’s “a terminal blow for users of their service located in the US and a significant hit to Binance’s revenue” as the suit alleges US users make up 16% of the revenue for Binance’s derivatives product. [here](https://www.cnn.com/2022/05/12/investing/luna-terra-stablecoin-explained/index.html) and [here](https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/10/business/ftx-sam-bankman-fried-crypto-collapse/index.html) but, tl;dr: Those 2022 events were, to use a technical term, holy-crap-sell-everything-call-your-dad-and-cry moments for crypto investors.) [tweeted the number 4](https://twitter.com/cz_binance/status/1640372505046052866?s=20), pointing to a part of a previous statement: “Ignore FUD, fake news, attacks, etc.” (FUD is a commonly used acronym among crypto folks that stands for “fear, uncertainty, doubt.”)

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Image courtesy of "Aljazeera.com"

US regulator sues top crypto exchange Binance, CEO (Aljazeera.com)

US Commodity Futures Trading Commission claims world's biggest crypto exchange engaged in “willful evasion” of US law.

The house accounts were exempt from Binance’s “insider trading” policy, the CFTC said. The fourth item on the list was “Ignore FUD, fake news, attacks,” using an acronym for “fear, uncertainty and doubt” often used in crypto in relation to news perceived as negative. Reuters previously reported that this US firm, BAM Trading, was in fact controlled by Zhao and managed by Binance as a de facto subsidiary. With a holding company based in the Cayman Islands, Binance has never revealed the location of its core exchange. Reuters reported in December that the US Justice Department had been investigating Binance since 2018 for possible money laundering and sanctions violations. The CFTC is responsible for oversight of commodities and derivatives markets, including Bitcoin.

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Image courtesy of "The Straits Times"

Binance isn't FTX. It's much bigger and more systemically important ... (The Straits Times)

So far in March, the exchange has accounted for about 70 per cent of all crypto trading volumes across the spot market. PHOTO: REUTERS. Updated. 2 hours ago.

The company is the biggest target by far in a US regulatory crackdown that has engulfed other big players, from US exchange Coinbase Global to entrepreneur Justin Sun and It is the kind of market heft that dwarfs the role of Apple or Samsung Electronics in the smartphone market, for example. It is one of several US authorities, including the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Department of Justice, that have been investigating Binance’s activities. With its power and influence only increasing after the collapse in 2022 of Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX empire, the inconvenient truth is that Binance has a grip on the US$1.1 trillion (S$1.5 trillion) industry that has few parallels in traditional finance. It is a big deal for both Binance and Mr Zhao, who famously became crypto’s singular titan after contributing to the demise of FTX. Run by Mr Zhao “CZ” Changpeng, the world’s largest crypto exchange is a dominant force in everything from Bitcoin trading and digital art to venture capital.

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Image courtesy of "The Business Times"

Binance CEO CZ has more than 'FUD' to worry him now (The Business Times)

I'M not an anarchist,” Changpeng Zhao (CZ) once said. “I don't believe human civilization is advanced enough to live in a world with no rules.”

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Image courtesy of "Reuters"

CFTC: U.S. regulators needed to step in aggressively on Binance (Reuters)

The U.S. agency sued Binance, the world's largest crypto exchange, on Monday. "This seemed to be a pretty clear case of evasion and something that we needed to ...

Register for free to Reuters and know the full story WASHINGTON, March 28 (Reuters) - Activity at Binance was a pretty clear case of evasion and U.S. "This seemed to be a pretty clear case of evasion and something that we needed to step in aggressively with and do it as quickly as possible because this was an ongoing fraud - going back to 2019 - and ongoing violation of the Commodity Exchange Act," CFTC Chairman Rostin Behnam said in an interview with CNBC.

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Image courtesy of "Reuters"

Who is Binance billionaire Changpeng Zhao? (Reuters)

LONDON, March 28 (Reuters) - Binance founder Changpeng Zhao could never be accused of thinking small. Even back in 2017, the year he launched the business ...

A Binance spokesperson said on Monday the company would continue to "collaborate" with regulators. In response to the U.S. [under investigation](/markets/us/us-justice-dept-is-split-over-charging-binance-crypto-world-falters-sources-2022-12-12/) by the U.S. The CEO installed an tight circle of associates, many of whom had worked or studied in China, into top jobs, the Reuters report in October showed. The extent of Zhao's personal wealth is also unclear. Department of Justice for alleged criminal sanctions violations and money laundering, Reuters reported in December, with some prosecutors believing they have sufficient evidence to charge Zhao and other top executives. user base and failed to establish the money-laundering checks required of financial institutions, it alleged, citing a number of practices first reported by Reuters The exchange had strived through the year to strengthen client checks, it said, developing crypto's "best security and compliance team." And this year Zhao felt a major goal was almost within his grasp: a seat at the top table of finance. Binance also grew and concealed its U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) on Monday for operating an allegedly "illegal" exchange. he told staff in a company chat group.

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Image courtesy of "WION"

US regulator sues top crypto exchange Binance, CEO for willful ... (WION)

The world's biggest crypto exchange Binance and its CEO and founder Changpeng Zhao were sued by the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) on Monday ...

Binance traded on its own platform through some 300 "house accounts," directly or indirectly owned by Zhao, though the exchange had not disclosed this activity in its public terms of use or elsewhere, according to CFTC. Reuters previously reported that this American firm, BAM Trading, was in fact controlled by Zhao and managed by Binance as a de-facto subsidiary. With a holding company based in the Cayman Islands, Binance has never revealed the location of its core exchange. The fourth item on the list was "Ignore FUD, fake news, attacks," using an acronym for "fear, uncertainty and doubt" often used in crypto in relation to news perceived as negative. Reuters reported in December that the US Justice Department had been investigating Binance since 2018 for possible money laundering and sanctions violations. The CFTC is responsible for oversight of commodities and derivatives markets, including Bitcoin.

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Image courtesy of "Bloomberg"

Binance Crackdown Threatens US Trading Firms, Alarming Market (Bloomberg)

A top US regulator's case against Binance Holdings Ltd. is mushrooming well beyond Changpeng Zhao's company and rattling American firms that officials say ...

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Image courtesy of "Coindesk"

How Bad Is the Binance Suit? (Coindesk)

Binance, the largest global crypto exchange by trading volume, and Chief Executive Changpeng Zhao, aka CZ, were reportedly taken off guard by the U.S. ...

CoinDesk is an independent operating subsidiary of [Digital Currency Group](https://dcg.co/), which invests in [cryptocurrencies](https://dcg.co/#digital-assets-portfolio) and blockchain [startups](https://dcg.co/portfolio/). Department of Justice](https://www.coindesk.com/business/2022/12/12/us-prosecutors-look-to-charge-binance-and-cz-for-possible-money-laundering-violations-reuters/), [Securities and Exchange Commission](https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2023/03/03/sec-official-says-binance-us-is-operating-unregistered-securities-exchange/) and even the [Internal Revenue Service](https://www.coindesk.com/business/2021/05/13/doj-irs-investigating-crypto-exchange-binance-report/) were preparing lawsuits for a range of corporate failings. [wealthiest people in the world](https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnhyatt/2022/04/05/the-wealthiest-person-in-crypto-climbs-into-worlds-20-richest/), starts selling off assets, that could have a negative impact on crypto prices. [strict set of editorial policies](/ethics/). [ Consensus 2023](https://consensus.coindesk.com/), CoinDesk’s longest-running and most influential event that brings together all sides of crypto, blockchain and Web3. [had closed “gaps” that formed](https://www.wsj.com/articles/crypto-giant-binance-expects-to-pay-penalties-to-resolve-u-s-investigations-f1e3c9d2) in its compliance strategy as a result of the exchange’s rapid expansion. [file a civil lawsuit](https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.ilnd.431767/gov.uscourts.ilnd.431767.1.0_1.pdf) against the company on Monday. government has taken a hard line against crypto – seemingly coordinating efforts to cut crypto off from the wider economy through banking restrictions and punitive lawsuits – and so it should not be a surprise they would target an exchange that has seemed to weather and grow during the bear market. Experts say this could be a fatal blow to the exchange ( The firm, which [has for years avoided](https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2020/05/08/binance-doesnt-have-a-headquarters-because-bitcoin-doesnt-says-ceo/) establishing a permanent headquarters, had been in dialogue with U.S. Binance’s executives were allegedly aware its geofencing tools were inadequate, and even had a semi-formalized (though confidential) procedure for getting “whales” around it and shielding their U.S. Commodities and Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC) decision to

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Image courtesy of "Forbes"

CFTC 'Goes Straight For The Knockout' In Complaint Against Binance (Forbes)

The new Commodity Futures Trading Commission complaint against Binance looks like a forceful blow to a cryptocurrency exchange already under pressure from ...

XRP is leading the heavyweights with a 12% gain, trading to 53 cents, about its highest since October. actions against Binance, which appear to be part of a broad, though unannounced crackdown on crypto in general by U.S. The agency also said the plan to return holdings to customers whose funds were frozen was not shown to be in compliance with U.S. [granted](https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.595606/gov.uscourts.nysd.595606.45.0.pdf) by Judge Jennifer Rearden of the U.S. “The outcome of the Binance case will depend on the company's response, but a settlement is a likely possibility,” Warren said. The state’s Department of Financial Services cited a failure by Paxos, a U.S. The company did not respond to Forbes’ request for comment. On Monday, the CFTC issued a complaint against Binance, alleging the company offered crypto derivatives, such as futures or options contracts, with leverage for assets such as bitcoin, ether, and litecoin to U.S. Voyager, it said, failed “to adequately describe whether third parties, including Binance.US affiliates or foreign persons or entities, will have access to the keys for customer wallets or control over anyone with access to such wallets.” users and maintains high anti-money-laundering and customer-identity standards, that Binance has been working with the CFTC for more than two years and that the complaint was “unexpected and disappointing.” It’s safe to assume that this action from the CFTC was a long time in the making,” she added. “In situations where this is alleged, the CFTC doesn’t waste its time on jabs–it goes straight for the knockout.

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Image courtesy of "Bloomberg"

Binance Has Been Served. Now What? (Bloomberg)

In this edition of the Bloomberg Crypto newsletter, Michael P. Regan ponders the potential punishment for Binance's alleged crypto crimes:

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Image courtesy of "The Straits Times"

Binance crackdown threatens US trading firms, spooks market (The Straits Times)

A top US regulator's case against Binance is rattling US firms that officials say worked with the exchange to trade crypto. Read more at straitstimes.com.

There is a possibility that the industry comes out of the suit with “confidence-bolstering regulation and fairer industry standards,” the firm said in a statement posted on Twitter Monday. Those VIPs included trading firms based in the US, the CFTC said. “The risks to US firms are far greater than the risk to Binance,” said Urska Velikonja, a professor at Georgetown Law.

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Image courtesy of "The Business Times"

Binance billionaire Zhao, the crypto king who wants the world (The Business Times)

BINANCE founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) could never be accused of thinking small. Even back in 2017, the year he launched the business in China, he had towering ...

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Image courtesy of "The Wall Street Journal"

Binance Sees $2 Billion in Outflows as Troubles Compound (The Wall Street Journal)

In a tumultuous few days, crypto giant raises fees, suffers software issues and faces regulator lawsuit.

[operated illegally in the U.S.](https://www.wsj.com/articles/cftc-sues-binance-holdings-in-chicago-federal-court-4280ada3?mod=article_inline) and violated rules designed to prevent illicit financial activity. [30% off eBay coupon](https://www.wsj.com/coupons/ebay) H&R Block Coupon Code](https://www.wsj.com/coupons/hrblock)

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