Binance under sanction: Does BNB’s price action reflect investor sentiment

• Binance faces regulatory challenges in the U.S. with DOJ’s investigation.
• Investor sentiment towards BNB has turned bearish, with negative funding rates and declining trading volumes.

Binance [BNB] has been capturing the interest of various regulatory agencies in the United States in one way or another. According to a recent report by Bloomberg, another investigation may be looming for the exchange. This latest development raises the question of whether it’s a momentary case of fear, uncertainty, and doubt (FUD), or there’s more than meets the eye.

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Binance vs. DOJ?

A 6 May Bloomberg report revealed that the national security division of the US Justice Department was examining potential misconduct by Binance or its executives concerning sanctions tied to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Specifically, the investigation aimed to determine if Russians exploited Binance Holdings. The alleged exploitation was to circumvent U.S. sanctions and facilitate the movement of funds through the platform. 

This alleged inquiry is the latest episode in a series of encounters between Binance and regulatory or governmental entities.

Will Binance witness another massive outflow?

In the latter part of March 2023, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) took legal action against Binance. It was alleged that the company knowingly offered unregistered cryptocurrency derivative products violating federal regulations.

The lawsuit triggered a significant outflow of funds from the exchange, resulting in a decline in the reserve of Binance USD [BUSD]. 

In response, Binance introduced TrueUSD [TUSD] as an alternative on the exchange, as Paxos, which also faced regulatory scrutiny (Wells Notice), ceased the creation of new BUSDs. Considering these developments, the performance of BNB following the recent Bloomberg report will provide insights into how investors have reacted.

The current state of BNB

According to data provided by Coinglass, investors have been taking positions against the upward movement of BNB’s price. At the time of writing, the funding rate across most exchanges was negative, indicating a prevailing sentiment of bearishness.

Realistic or not, here’s BNB market cap in BTC’s terms

However, a closer examination of the chart revealed that the current negative funding rate was not isolated but had been observed consistently in recent days. 

Source: Coinglass

Furthermore, the trading volume has experienced a decline, falling below the billion-dollar mark. The price of BNB has also decreased by over 1%, with the token trading at approximately $321 at press time.