Binance, the World's Top Crypto Exchange, Under US Investigation

Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, and its CEO, Changpeng Zhao, are being sued by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in the United States for regulation breaches. Binance's procedures, money, leadership, and assets are all covered in this piece.

Binance Overview

Binance was established in Shanghai in 2017 and has since expanded to Tokyo and Malta. The exchange provides spot and futures dealing as well as a variety of services ranging from non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to cryptocurrency lending and asset management. Binance boasts 128 million customers and more than 7,500 workers globally. The parent firm of the business is located in the Cayman Islands, and it has no stated offices.

Binance's Finances

Binance's worldwide trading network, Binance.com, handled approximately $65 billion in coin transactions per day in 2022, making it the world's largest cryptocurrency market. However, because it is a closely owned business, it does not share fundamental financial information such as sales, earnings, and capital assets. Furthermore, because Binance has not collected outside capital since 2018, it has not been required to disclose financial data with external investors.

Binance's Leadership

Binance was established by CEO Changpeng Zhao and Yi He, a former trip program presenter on Chinese television. Yi is now one of Zhao's most influential subordinates, in charge of the company's $7.5 billion venture capital unit as well as other important positions such as marketing director. According to Reuters, Zhao delegated key positions to a close group of friends, many of whom had previously worked or studied in China. In recent years, the business has recruited heavily from the conventional finance and regulatory sectors, including Noah Perlman, a Morgan Stanley expert who became Binance's top compliance officer in February.

Binance's Investments

Binance's venture capital branch has made over 200 venture investments since 2018, investing nearly $2 billion on over 150 transactions, including key data portal CoinMarketCap. Binance spent $500 million in Elon Musk's acquisition of Twitter in 2022. The business is also well-known in the athletics world, having sponsored the Italian soccer club Lazio as well as the Argentina national team. It also supported the 2021 African Cup of Nations. Binance struck a collaboration with Portuguese soccer sensation Cristiano Ronaldo to market its NFTs in 2022.

The Lawsuit

The CFTC in the United States has sued Binance and Zhao for claimed regulation breaches. According to the CFTC lawsuit, Binance enabled US citizens to trade futures without being listed with the agency. It also claims that Binance lacked appropriate anti-money laundering (AML) processes and neglected to submit Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) for specific transactions. Civil monetary fines, disgorgement, and trading prohibitions are sought in the case. Binance has indicated that it will contest the claims.

Conclusion

With a huge user base and a variety of services, Binance is a powerful force in the bitcoin world. However, investors and authorities are concerned about its hidden funds and regulation problems. The new CFTC case is the latest test for Binance and its leadership, and it remains to be seen how the business will react.

As a reminder, WikiBit is ready to help you search the qualifications and reputation of projects in a bid to protect you from hidden dangers in this risky industry!

iOS: t.ly/UUCj

Android: t.ly/cfYt