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☆ Binance U.S. clients have $2.2 billion 'at significant risk' after crypto exchange charged, SEC says
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Rohan Goswami | In Rohangoswamicnbc | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The $2.2 billion of U.S. customer assets held by Binance is at "significant risk" of being stolen by founder Changpeng Zhao unless a freezing order is in put place, federal regulators said in a filing Tuesday night, after the crypto regulator was charged by the Securities and Exchange Commission. The SEC sued Binance and Zhao on Monday, alleging they engaged in the unregistered offer and sale of securities and commingled investor funds with their own. Years of communications between the SEC and Binance, which claims no official headquarters, suggest that Binance.US couldn't clearly indicate who controlled customer assets, according to the filing. "Zhao and Binance have had free reign," the SEC alleged, over "customer assets worth billions of dollars." The SEC says federal law and precedent establish the court's jurisdiction over Zhao and Binance.

Persons: Binance's, Changpeng Zhao, Zhao, Binance, Timothy Massad Organizations: Binance, Securities and Exchange Commission, Lawyers, SEC, BAM, BAM Management, Binance's, BAM Trading Locations: U.S, Swiss, British Virgin Islands, Binance's U.S, United States, UAE

☆ Investors pull $790 million from crypto exchange Binance after SEC charges
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Rohan Goswami | In Rohangoswamicnbc | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Crypto investors pulled $791.6 million from the crypto exchange Binance in 24 hours, crypto research firm Nansen said Tuesday, after U.S. regulators unveiled 13 securities charges against the company and its founder, Changpeng Zhao. After the collapse of allegedly fraudulent crypto exchange FTX in November 2022, investors moved their assets to a number of exchanges, but Binance won the lion's share of those inflows. Investors withdrew $1.65 billion worth of assets from Binance and $13 million from contested Binance's U.S. arm on the Ethereum blockchain after the charges were unveiled. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission had already unveiled a similar set of charges against the crypto exchange earlier this year. Correction: This story has been updated to reflect that the Securities and Exchange Commission brought the charges against Binance and Zhao.

Persons: Changpeng Zhao, Nansen, Binance, Zhao, Sam Bankman Organizations: Binance Holdings Ltd, Monday's Securities, Exchange Commission, Investors, U.S, SEC, Futures Trading Commission, Securities and Exchange Commission, Binance Locations: Lisbon, Portugal, Binance, U.S

☆ SEC sues Coinbase, calling it an unregistered crypto broker
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Allison Morrow | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

On Tuesday, the US Securities and Exchange Commission sued Coinbase, America’s largest crypto exchange, for allegedly acting as an unregistered broker. “Since at least 2019, Coinbase has made billions of dollars unlawfully facilitating the buying and selling of crypto asset securities,” the SEC said in a press release. The Coinbase lawsuit comes on the heels of a similar SEC complaint against Binance, which is by far the world’s biggest crypto exchange. Since then, digital asset prices have tanked and regulators have stepped up their scrutiny of the industry. “It should get crypto closer to final rules of the road regardless of how the judge rules.”

Persons: Coinbase, “ Coinbase, ”, “, Binance, Nansen, Cowen Organizations: New, New York CNN, US Securities and Exchange Commission, Binance, SEC, CNN, Binance.US Locations: New York

☆ Crypto exchange Binance hit by outflows of $780 million in last 24 hours - Nansen
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

LONDON, June 6 (Reuters) - Investors have pulled around $780 million from crypto exchange Binance in the last 24 hours, data firm Nansen said on Tuesday, a day after the world's biggest crypto exchange was sued by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. loadingBinance's U.S. affiliate exchange registered net outflows of $13 million in the same period, Nansen said. Neither Binance nor Binance.US immediately responded to a request for comment. Reporting by Tom Wilson, editing by Alun JohnOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Nansen, Binance.US, Tom Wilson, Alun John Organizations: U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, Thomson

After receiving $145 million from Binance.US's operator by 2021, Sigma Chain spent $11 million on buying a yacht, the SEC complaint said, without elaborating. It is unclear from the SEC complaint how much money Zhao is alleged to have drawn from Merit Peak and Sigma Chain. The SEC also said Zhao used Merit Peak to direct more than $16 million to fund Binance's purportedly independent U.S. affiliate Binance.US. Binance used its BUSD holdings to meet customer withdrawals by selling them for dollars as needed, Reuters reported in May. The SEC complaint also identified Binance Labs, a venture capital arm of Binance, as part of the exchange's plan to increase demand for BNB.

Persons: Zhao, Binance, Benoit Tessier LONDON, Changpeng Zhao, John Reed Stark, Stark, Binance's, Angus Berwick, Tom Wilson, Lisa Barrington, Hadeel Al, Elisa Martinuzzi, Alexander Smith Organizations: Viva Technology, Porte de, REUTERS, Binance, Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, Swiss, Sigma Chain, Reuters, Silicon, Internet, Futures Trading Commission, U.S . Justice, Reuters Graphics, Silvergate Bank, Merit, Sigma, Binance Labs, Thomson Locations: Porte, Paris, France, Binance, U.S, Virgin Islands, Dubai, London, Hadeel Al Sayegh

LONDON, June 5 (Reuters) - A senior Binance executive was the main operator for five bank accounts belonging to the giant cryptocurrency exchange’s purportedly independent U.S. affiliate, including an account that held American customers’ funds, bank records show. This allowed Chen and her deputies to move funds held in the bank accounts. The previously unreported bank records and messages show that Binance’s management over the U.S. business’s finances extended across its bank accounts at Silvergate and detail how this secret access was granted. Binance.US has denied that Binance ever operated its bank accounts. ‘PRIMARY ADMIN USER’The Binance.US trading platform was launched by its operating firm, BAM Trading, in mid-2019 under then Chief Executive Catherine Coley.

Persons: Guangying Chen, Changpeng Zhao, Chen, Binance, Zhao, Binance.US, Krishna Juvvadi, Christian Hertenstein, Brian Shroder, ” Hertenstein, “, Chen’s, Juvvadi, ”, Peak’s, Catherine Coley, Coley, Silvergate, James McDonald, Hertenstein, Susan Li, Li messaged, Li, Angus Berwick, Tom Wilson, Janet McBride, Michael Williams Organizations: Silvergate Bank, U.S, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, Reuters, BAM, U.S . Commodity Futures Trading Commission, CFTC, ” Reuters, SEC, “, Thomson Locations: U.S, Washington, American, US, Binance, Shanghai, Binance.US

June 5 (Reuters) - Cryptocurrencies and shares in crypto and blockchain-related companies tumbled on Monday after the U.S. securities regulator sued crypto exchange Binance, another blow to the industry. The SEC crackdown has prompted some crypto companies to increase compliance, spike products, and expand overseas, moves that some marketwatchers said would likely be accelerated by this latest action against the world's largest crypto exchange. In April, the SEC charged crypto exchange Bittrex Inc with operating an unregistered securities exchange, broker and clearing agency, and settled with Kraken in February for $30 million over the exchange's U.S. crypto staking service. Shares of Coinbase (COIN.O) were down 9.1% on the news of the SEC's charges against Binance. Both Coinbase and crypto exchange Gemini launched international exchanges for crypto derivatives in May.

Persons: Binance, Changpeng Zhao, Binance's cryptocurrency, Gary Gensler, marketwatchers, John Reed Stark, Kraken, Bittrex, James Angel, Gemini, Rajeev Bamra, Sinéad Carew, John McCrank, Manya Saini, Hannah Lang, Michelle Price, Leslie Adler, Lisa Shumaker Organizations: U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, Reuters, SEC, Washington , D.C, Internet, Coinbase Global Inc, Georgetown University, Binance, Inc, Marathon, Mining, Moody’s Investors Service, Thomson Locations: Washington ,, U.S, New York, Bengaluru, Washington

June 5 (Reuters) - The world's largest crypto exchange Binance and its CEO Changpeng Zhao operated a "web of deception" that included artificially inflating its trading volumes and diverting customer assets, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission alleged on Monday. The agency on Monday sued Binance and Zhao for failing to restrict U.S. customers from its platform and misleading investors about its market surveillance controls, as well as for operating an unregistered securities exchange. "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,” said SEC Chair Gary Gensler said in a statement. The world's biggest crypto exchange, Binance was founded in Shanghai in 2017 by CEO Changpeng Zhao, a Canadian citizen born and raised until the age of 12 in China. Binance's global trading platform, Binance.com dominates the crypto trading landscape, last year processing trades worth about $65 billion a day with up to 70% of the market.

Persons: Zhao, Binance, ”, Gary Gensler, BNB, Changpeng Zhao, Jonathan Stempel, Hannah Lang, Tom Wilson, Nick Zieminski Organizations: U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, Washington , D.C, SEC, Sigma, Binance, U.S . Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Justice, Reuters, Silvergate, Thomson Locations: Washington ,, Shanghai, Canadian, China, Cayman Islands, Silvergate Bank, New York, Washington, London

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/IllustrationJune 5 (Reuters) - The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Monday accused the world's largest crypto exchange, Binance, and its founder Changpeng Zhao, of operating an "elaborate scheme to evade U.S. federal securities laws." The SEC charged Binance and Zhao with 13 offences, including operating an unregistered securities exchange and failing to restrict U.S. customers from its platform. "Any allegations that user assets on the Binance.US platform have ever been at risk are simply wrong," Binance said. Merit Peak and Sigma Chain were used to transfer tens of billions of dollars involving Binance, Binance.US and other related entities, the SEC said. Zhao instructed Binance.US to onboard Sigma Chain and Merit Peak as market makers on the Binance.US platform, the SEC said.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Changpeng Zhao, Zhao, Binance, Binance.US, Chain’s, Angus Berwick, Michelle Price, Nick Zieminski Organizations: REUTERS, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, SEC, Peak's, Reuters, Silvergate Bank, Sigma, BUSINESS Zhao, BAM, Sigma Chain, U.S, Thomson Locations: U.S, Switzerland, Binance.US, Shanghai, Cayman Islands

LONDON, June 5 - A senior Binance executive was the main operator for five bank accounts belonging to the giant cryptocurrency exchange’s purportedly independent U.S. affiliate, including an account that held American customers’ funds, bank records show. This allowed Chen and her deputies to move funds held in the bank accounts. The previously unreported bank records and messages show that Binance’s management over the U.S. business’s finances extended across its bank accounts at Silvergate and detail how this secret access was granted. Binance.US has denied that Binance ever operated its bank accounts. ‘PRIMARY ADMIN USER’The Binance.US trading platform was launched by its operating firm, BAM Trading, in mid-2019 under chief executive Catherine Coley.

Persons: Guangying Chen, Changpeng Zhao, Chen, Binance, Binance.US, Krishna Juvvadi, Christian Hertenstein, Brian Shroder, ” Hertenstein, Zhao, “, Chen’s, Juvvadi, Reutersalso, Peak’s, Catherine Coley, Coley, Silvergate, James McDonald, Hertenstein, ”, Susan Li, Li messaged, Li, Angus Berwick, Tom Wilson, Janet McBride, Michael Williams Organizations: Silvergate Bank, U.S, Reuters, BAM, U.S . Commodity Futures Trading Commission, CFTC, “, Thomson Locations: U.S, Washington, American, US, Binance, Shanghai, Binance.US

☆ The SEC is suing Binance and CEO Changpeng Zhao for violating securities regulation
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( Max Adams | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The SEC is suing Binance and its CEO, Changpeng Zhao. The SEC alleged that Binance diverted customers' funds to a trading firm called Sigma Chain that was under Zhao's control. The regulator also said Sigma Chain conducted fraudulent trades to artificially inflate Binance's volume. In February, the Journal reported the SEC was looking into the relationship between the US arm of Binance and two trading firms with ties to Zhao. One area of the investigation's focus was how Binance.US disclosed to customers its links to the trading firms, the report said.

Persons: Binance, Changpeng Zhao, Zhao, —, Binance's Zhao Organizations: SEC, WSJ, Service, US Securities and Exchange Commission, Monday, Street Journal, Sigma, Sigma Chain, District of Columbia, Commodities Futures, Trading Commission, Palestinian, Justice Department, Washington Post, Western, of, Reuters Locations: District, Binance.US, Russian, of Washington, Seattle

☆ SEC sues Binance and CEO Changpeng Zhao for U.S. securities violations
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( Rohan Goswami | In Rohangoswamicnbc | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Binance's ultimate compliance, in 2019, was largely a public show, the SEC complaint continues. The SEC alleged that Binance and Zhao violated "critical" provisions of federal security laws, including self-dealing and market manipulation, through Merit Peak Limited and Sigma Chain, both of which Zhao controlled and owned. Merit Peak, a British Virgin Islands-based company, was one of the "earliest market makers" on Binance's U.S. platform, the SEC alleged. "We will issue a response once we see the complaint," Zhao said on Twitter. The defendants showed a "blatant disregard" of federal law, the SEC alleged.

Persons: Changpeng Zhao, Zhao, Binance, Binance.US Organizations: Securities, Exchange, Binance, SEC, CNBC, Limited, Sigma Chain, Merit, Binance's U.S, Twitter, Media Locations: European, The U.S, USA, U.S, VPNs, Binance.com, British Virgin Islands, Binance's

☆ Bankrupt crypto lender Voyager Digital predicts 35% customer payout
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Dietrich Knauth | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW YORK, May 17 (Reuters) - Crypto lender Voyager Digital said Wednesday that customers will recover about 35% of their cryptocurrency deposits as the company winds down its operations after a failed buyout attempt by crypto exchange Binance.US. It initially sought to sell its assets for $1.42 billion to FTX, a deal that failed when FTX imploded in November. If Voyager fully prevails in the FTX litigation, customers' expected recovery would be 63.74%, according to Voyager's court filings. Voyager intends to repay customers with the same type of cryptocurrency that they had in their accounts. Voyager was one of several crypto lenders to file for bankruptcy in 2022 after a boom in the COVID-19 pandemic.

☆ No 'immediate path forward': CFTC is talking to Binance after launching legal action, official says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

A Commodity Futures Trading Commission official said Tuesday that she hopes to find a "path forward" in the regulator's legal battle with crypto exchange Binance, noting that no decision has been taken yet on whether to settle the case or take it to court. Kristin N. Johnson, commissioner at the CFTC, said that the regulator has been in conversations with Binance to address its concerns about the company's conduct. And I want to say that typically, in the context of any litigation, we are always ready to have conversations and typically even ahead of the litigation," Johnson said in an interview with CNBC's Arjun Kharpal Tuesday. "As of the moment, we can conclude that there is not an immediate path forward," she added. Her comments mark a rare statement on the Binance suit to media since the CFTC first announced it was suing the company on Mar.

[1/2] Representations of cryptocurrencies and Voyager Digital logo are seen in this illustration taken, July 7, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/IllustrationsApril 25 (Reuters) - Binance.US has called off its $1.3 billion deal to buy assets of bankrupt crypto lender Voyager Digital, citing a "hostile and uncertain regulatory climate." "The hostile and uncertain regulatory climate in the United States has introduced an unpredictable operating environment impacting the entire American business community," a spokesperson for Binance.US said in a statement. "We are focused on creating a safe platform where our customers can participate in the digital asset economy." The company had initially agreed to sell its assets to major digital asset exchange FTX, but that deal fell apart when FTX imploded in November.

☆ Binance.US to delist digital asset tokens TRON, Spell
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SINGAPORE, April 12 (Reuters) - The U.S. arm of cryptocurrency exchange Binance said it will remove digital asset tokens TRON and Spell from its trading platform, sending the prices of both down sharply on Wednesday. The TRON token fell nearly 5% against the U.S. dollar after the announcement, which was posted on Twitter and the Binance.US website, while the much smaller Spell token fell more than 5%, based on data from CoinMarketCap. Justin Sun, founder of the TRON token, told Reuters in a text message that the impact would be "relatively small". "Binance.US trading volume is less than $1 million per day. TRX's current trading volume is $400 million," said Sun, using the token's ticker symbol.

The crackdown on crypto banking is squeezing digital-asset businesses. The U.S. affiliate of global crypto exchange Binance has struggled to find a bank for its customers’ cash after the failure of Signature Bank left it without a key banking partner, people familiar with the matter said. Users’ dollar deposits were previously sent to either Signature Bank or Silvergate Capital Corp., according to Binance.US’s website. The failures of Signature and Silvergate, both seen as friendly to crypto companies, left many crypto firms rushing to find new banking partners.

☆ Binance's US arm struggles to find bank to take its customers' cash- WSJ
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 8 (Reuters) - The U.S. arm of cryptocurrency exchange Binance is struggling to find a bank to handle its customers' cash after the failure of Signature Bank (SBNY.PK) last month, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday, citing people familiar with the matter. Previously, the deposits were sent to either Signature Bank or Silvergate Capital Corp (SI.N), both seen as crypto-friendly banks. However, after both failed, the exchange is rushing to find a new banking partner, according to the report. The company has unsuccessfully tried to establish relationships with Cross River Bank and Customers Bancorp Inc (CUBI.N), the report said, adding that banks are reluctant due to concerns over regulatory risk. Reporting by Akanksha Khushi in Bengaluru; Editing by Lisa ShumakerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Binance's US arm struggles to find bank to take its customers' cash, Wall Street Journal reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Reuters could not determine Coley's status in the government investigations or whether she had cooperated. While he was its director of enforcement, the CFTC increasingly worked on investigations in parallel with federal prosecutors. McDonald's representation of Coley comes as the U.S. investigations pile pressure on Binance, which dominates the crypto sector as the world's largest digital currency exchange. The CFTC's complaint said that Binance personnel, including Zhao, have "dictated Binance.US's corporate strategy, launch, and early operations." In a subpoena addressed to Coley that same month, the SEC also requested all records of her activities and meetings.

☆ Binance 'could be in big trouble' as the CFTC lawsuit alleges the crypto behemoth dodged regulators and breached laws
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Zahra Tayeb | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Binance is being blow-torched from all angles as US regulators close in on the world's largest crypto exchange. The CFTC sued the exchange this week for violating US financial laws, whilst some reports suggest Binance has engaged in secret fund transfers. On Monday, the Commodities Futures and Trading Commission (CFTC) sued Binance and Zhao himself, for allegedly breaching US financial laws. Following the shocking implosion of Sam-Bankman Fried's FTX exchange late last year, concerns have risen whether Binance faces similar risks. If US authorities decide the links meant the crypto exchange had control over the US platform, it could expose the company to enforcement action.

☆ Voyager Digital's sale to Binance.US halted by district court - Bloomberg News
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

March 27 (Reuters) - A federal judge has granted the U.S. government's request to temporarily halt Voyager Digital's bankruptcy plan, putting the crypto lender's proposed sale to Binance.US on hold, Bloomberg News reported on Monday, citing court papers. Reporting by Jaiveer Singh Shekhawat in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika SyamnathOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

The CFTC sued Binance, Zhao and its former top compliance executive with "willful evasion" of U.S. law, "while engaging in a calculated strategy of regulatory arbitrage to their commercial benefit." "Upon an initial review, the complaint appears to contain an incomplete recitation of facts, and we do not agree with the characterization of many of the issues alleged in the complaint," Zhao said in a statement. Firms such as brokers that facilitate U.S. customers' trading of such products are required to register with the agency. 'PIRATE SHIP'Founded in Shanghai in 2017, Binance sits at the heart of the global crypto industry. With a holding company based in the Cayman Islands, Binance has never revealed the location of its core exchange.

☆ Judge halts Voyager Digital's $1.3 bln sale to Binance.US
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

March 27 (Reuters) - A federal judge on Monday temporarily stopped bankrupt Voyager Digital (VYGVQ.PK) from completing a proposed $1.3 billion sale to crypto exchange Binance.US, allowing the U.S. government more time to pursue appeals that challenge the legality of the deal. Trustee, the Department of Justice's (DOJ) bankruptcy watchdog, filed appeals in early March over a bankruptcy court's approval of the sale. Binance.US has agreed to pay $20 million in cash to Voyager, and take on crypto assets deposited by Voyager customers. Those assets, valued at $1.3 billion in February, account for the bulk of the deal's valuation, according to Voyager. Binance.US maintains publicly that it is entirely independent of Binance.com, operating as the "U.S. partner" to the world's biggest crypto exchange.

☆ XRP cryptocurrency jumps as investors hope Ripple will win legal battle with the SEC
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The XRP cryptocurrency soared on Wednesday as investors grew hopeful that Ripple, a company closely associated with the token, would win its prolonged legal battle with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Under the plan, Binance's U.S. unit was to buy all of Voyager's assets, including its native VGX token, in a $1.3 billion deal. The SEC rejected the plan, arguing VGX was akin to a security and calling Binance an unregistered securities exchange, according to the notice from Ripple. The SEC accuses Ripple, CEO Brad Garlinghouse and co-founder Chris Larsen of breaching U.S. securities laws by selling XRP without first registering it with the regulator. Ripple contests the SEC's allegations, maintaining the view that XRP should be considered a digital currency rather than a security.

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