A recent report from Reuters is yet again indicting Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency trading platform.
The report said the exchange permitted Iranian users to trade on its platform after the United States reimposed sanctions on the country back in 2018.
According to the authors of the report, as many as 7 Iranians have confirmed that they maintained the use of the Binance platform from the time of the sanction back in August-November 2018 until September last year. Many of those who spoke to Reuters acknowledge the ease of use of the Binance platform which further offers very robust liquidity for a wide range of crypto assets.
Back in 2015, Iran inked a nuclear pact with world dealers making the US and other Western allies taper down some of their sanctions on the country at the time. The US reimposed the sanctions when the withdrawal of the US by former President Donald Trump from the Iranian peace deal. The setback of these sanctions fueled a massive decline in the Iranian economy, and an attractive basis for traders to rely on cryptocurrencies, through the Binance exchange.
Access to the Binance platform by the Iranian traders was cut off around last year September. However, the trading platform according to lawyers who spoke to Reuters stands a risk of being investigated by the US government. Although there is a point of whether the usage of the exchange was primarily focused on users using the trading platform to circumvent the sanctions, a trend that can tell if Binance will go scot-free.
Binance is always in the cross-hairs with the media when it comes to its operational ethics. Reuters has been particularly interested in Binance, as the renowned media outfit said back in June, this year that Binance was used as a conduit for money laundering and has facilitated as much as $2.4 billion in transactions.
Binance has denied these claims as well as other claims flying around with a confirmation that the exchange is renewing its approaches to maintain a healthy relationship with regulators. This is seen in the series of approvals to operate in key economies the firm has received, the latest of which is Spain.
Image source: Shutterstock
Source: https://blockchain.news/news/iranians-permitted-to-trade-on-binancedespite-us-imposes-sanctions-reuters