On March 27, Binance and its CEO were sued by the U.S. CFTC for regulatory violations. Specifically, they are under the radar for allegedly breaking trading and derivatives rules. In fact, the lawsuit also alleges that Binance traded on its own platform with 300 accounts directly or indirectly associated with CEO Changpeng Zhao.
Via a blog post, the Binance executive labeled the civil complaint to be “unexpected and disappointing.” He went on to assert that the exchange has been “working cooperatively” with the regulatory agency for over two years. CZ further wrote,
“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.”
With respect to technology for compliance in the U.S., CZ said that the exchange remains to have one of the “highest standards” in KYC and AML. In fact, he went on to assert that he wasn’t aware of any other company using systems more comprehensive or effective than Binance.
With respect to cooperation and transparency with law enforcement, the CEO explained that the exchange intends to continue to “respect and collaborate” with U.S. and other regulators around the world. Moreover, it is worth noting that Binance currently has more than 750 people in its compliance teams. The executive additionally went on to emphasize that Binance does not trade for profit or “manipulate” the market under any circumstances.
I have two accounts at Binance: CZ
Commenting on the number of personal accounts, he wrote,
“Personally, I have two accounts at Binance: one for Binance Card, one for my crypto holdings. I eat our own dog food and store my crypto on Binance.com. I also need to convert crypto from time-to-time to pay for my personal expenses or for the Card.“
Binance further has separate policies for employees and anyone with access to private information. CZ said that he observes these policies himself “strictly.” He added,
“While we are not perfect, we hold ourselves to a high standard, often higher than what existing regulations require.“
Here, it is worth recalling that Binance was reportedly preparing to pay penalties to make up for its past violations. During its early days, the world’s largest exchange was allegedly fuelled by software engineers not familiar with laws and rules pertaining to the risk of bribery and corruption, money laundering, and economic sanctions. As Watcher Guru reported, the firm’s Chief Strategy Officer, Patrick Hillmann, expected regulators to impose fines for past conduct.
That being said, Custodia Bank’s executive recently opined that the CFTC’s suit against Binance had no allegations of outright fraud. Caitlin Long, Founder and CEO at the bank said that “the U.S. has essentially gone after every crypto company that is doing business in the U.S., whether lawful or law-dodging.”
Also Read: Binance ‘Likely’ To Pay Fine To Settle Past Violations