The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission sued Binance on Monday, accusing the operator of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange of violating U.S. rules requiring futures and other derivatives to be traded on regulated platforms.
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) sued Binance Holdings Ltd. on Monday, accusing the operator of the world‘s largest cryptocurrency exchange of violating U.S. rules requiring futures and other derivatives to be traded on regulated platforms.
The CFTC lawsuit also names Binance founder Changpeng Zhao and Samuel Lim, whom the agency believes was Binance’s first chief compliance officer, as defendants. The lawsuit seeks an award of damages and fines, as well as an order preventing the company from continuing to engage in any violations of U.S. rules.
The CFTC alleges in the civil lawsuit that despite public statements by Binance to restrict Americans from using its platform, the company has taken a planned, phased approach to increasing its presence in the United States. Binance solicited both retail and institutional clients without registration, the CFTC said.
The Wall Street Journal (The…
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) sued Binance Holdings Ltd. on Monday, accusing the operator of the world‘s largest cryptocurrency exchange of violating U.S. rules requiring futures and other derivatives to be traded on regulated platforms.
The CFTC lawsuit also names Binance founder Changpeng Zhao and Samuel Lim, whom the agency believes was Binance’s first chief compliance officer, as defendants. The lawsuit seeks an award of damages and fines, as well as an order preventing the company from continuing to engage in any violations of U.S. rules.
The CFTC alleges in the civil lawsuit that despite public statements by Binance to restrict Americans from using its platform, the company has taken a planned, phased approach to increasing its presence in the United States. Binance solicited both retail and institutional clients without registration, the CFTC said.
The CFTC and other federal agencies, including the U.S. Department of Justice, have been investigating Binance for several years, The Wall Street Journal previously reported. In addition to imposing fines, the CFTC’s main enforcement tool is the ability to seek orders permanently prohibiting people from participating in the U.S. derivatives market or trading cryptocurrencies that meet the definition of commodities, such as bitcoin, ether and litecoin.
The lawsuit alleges that Changpeng Zhao and Lim failed to oversee the activities of their companies, including assisting and directing U.S. clients to evade compliance controls.
Binance did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
(This article will be updated later)