The American financial market policeman, the SEC, on Monday sued the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange platform, Binance, as well as its boss, Changpeng Zhao, for circumventing the regulations. According to the document filed in federal court in Washington, Binance notably let US residents use its platform despite the company not being registered with US authorities.
The SEC criticizes Binance for not having registered its platform, its own cryptocurrencies such as BNB or its other financial products in the United States. The regulator also claims that contrary to what Binance has publicly argued, the American subsidiary and the funds deposited there by customers were controlled by the parent company.
“(Changpeng) Zhao and Binance entities have been guilty of a series of deceptions, conflicts of interest, lack of transparency and calculated circumvention of the law,” argued the chairman of the company. SEC, Gary Gensler, quoted in a press release. “Zhao and Binance not only knew the rules, but they intentionally chose to circumvent them, putting their customers and investors at risk,” added the one who has adopted, for several months, a punitive approach to major cryptocurrency players. that do not register with the SEC.
The news caused Bitcoin, the most important cryptocurrency by value in circulation (more than 500 billion dollars), to drop almost 2% in a few minutes. As for the Binance Coin (BNB), cryptocurrency attached to the Binance platform and fourth digital currency by global valuation, it lost more than 5% of its value in less than an hour.
“Our team is on deck to ensure that our systems are stable, including withdrawals and deposits,” Changpeng Zhao responded from his Twitter account. “We will respond (to this subpoena) once we have seen the document,” he continued.
Industry leader
Leader of the sector, Binance had given up last November to acquire its competitor FTX, in turmoil since its founder Sam Bankman-Fried is prosecuted on several counts, including electronic fraud, money laundering and violation of laws. elections. A news that had caused Bitcoin prices to fall very violently. The cryptocurrency had reached its highest levels in 2021, climbing to almost 60,000 euros, but has been falling ever since.
In April 2022, Changpeng Zhao, also nicknamed CZ, announced in our columns that he wanted to set up Binance’s European headquarters in Paris and submit to future European regulations. He had also indicated his intention to open an incubator at Station F to help start-ups in Web 3.
2023-06-05 17:15:00
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