SEC Files Lawsuit Against Binance for U.S. Regulation Violations

Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world in terms of trading volume, is currently facing various legal challenges in the United States. binance binance [email protected] Centralised Exchange Holdings Ltd. and its CEO, changpeng zhao changpeng zhao founder and ceo at Binance Changpeng Zhao is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer at Binance.His contribution to the enhancement of Binance made the platform world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange since its inception in 2017. Zhao launched the blockchain network Binance Smart Chain which has made a remarkable contribution to the development of the decentralized finance ecosystem. Whereas in 2019, he launched Binance’s US affiliate, Binance.US.  
He is commonly known as CZ, a Chinese-Canadian Business Executive who has been ranked 113th richest in the globe as of 2022. In the past, he founded Fusion Systems, a trading system for brokers famous for some of the fastest high-frequency trading systems for brokers. Zhao has served as a member of the team that developed Blockchain.info and played the role of Chief Technology Officer of OKCoin, a secure cryptocurrency exchange platform for Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin, and other crypto assets. EntrepreneurInvestorChief Executive Officer , have been alleged to have violated US regulations, as stated in a filing made by the Securities and Exchange Commission in a federal court, as reported by Bloomberg.

SEC Chairman Gary Gensler said in a statement, “Through thirteen charges, we allege that Zhao and Binance entities engaged in an extensive web of deception, conflicts of interest, lack of disclosure, and calculated evasion of the law.”

“As alleged, Zhao and Binance misled investors about their risk controls and corrupted trading volumes while actively concealing who was operating the platform, the manipulative trading of its affiliated market maker, and even where and with whom investor funds and crypto assets were custodied,” he added.

Zhao has acknowledged the situation and indirectly told everyone to ‘Ignore FUD, fake news, attacks.’ He wrote on Twitter,

Also Read: Binance.US Responds to SEC Lawsuit, Urges Congressional Action for Regulatory Clarity

“Our team is all standing by, ensuring systems are stable, including withdrawals, and deposits. We will issue a response once we see the complaint. Haven’t seen it yet. Media gets the info before we do.”

Since the FTX incident in November, there has been an increase in regulatory actions against the crypto industry. Gensler has been particularly aggressive in his approach toward cryptocurrencies. Furthermore, Kraken, another cryptocurrency exchange, settled a legal matter related to possible violations of sanctions on Iran. As part of the settlement, Kraken agreed to pay $362,000 to the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) within the US Treasury Department.