Crypto Opinions & News Binance accused of Breaking US Financial Laws

[upnorth]

Content source

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-65091480

US regulators are seeking to ban Binance, the world's largest crypto trading platform, alleging that the firm has been operating in the country illegally.

The lawsuit from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said the firm cultivated US business while failing to register properly with authorities. It accused Binance of breaking numerous US financial laws, including rules intended to thwart money laundering.

Binance defended its practices. It said it had made "significant investments" to ensure that US users were not active on the platform, including blocking users identified as American citizens or residents, or who had a US mobile number. "This filing is unexpected and disappointing as we have been working collaboratively with the CFTC for more than two years. Nevertheless, we intend to continue to collaborate with regulators in the US and around the world," the firm said. "The best path forward is to protect our users and to collaborate with regulators to develop a clear, thoughtful regulatory regime."

Binance accused of breaking US financial laws

US regulators seek a ban on the crypto platform as they ramp up their regulation of the industry.

www.bbc.com

 

[ForgottenSeer 98186]

lol, it is common knowledge that if a US-based client wanted to workaround KYC laws that they could go to Binance. Binance has been doing it for years.

Binance is one of the trading platforms most abused by crypto whales to manipulate the market.

 

[oldschool]

Good thing Binance is integrated into Brave!

 

[ForgottenSeer 98186]

Good thing Binance is integrated into Brave!

Obviously nobody pays attention to people discussing how to avert KYC laws and identification requirements on social media, crypt forums, etc.

As a general rule, every single non-US based crypto trading platform or exchange does shady stuff. The ideological purpose of cryptos is anti-establishment and "disobey." The other thing is anonymity of ownership and not paying taxes (which is ironic given that many crypto-bros are leftists complaining that they don't get enough from the US govt). So any type of US regulations or laws that require platforms to identify customers is avoided as much as possible.

The CCP itself called the entire lot of Chinese-owned crypto exchanges "criminal."

 

[vtqhtr413]

Binance really loved telling people to use VPNs, allegedly​

To legally let people trade derivatives in the US, Binance should have registered with the CFTC, the regulator says. Instead, Binance made a bunch of noise about pretending it was only for customers outside the US, while encouraging American residents to use virtual private networks {VPN's} to obfuscate their location so they could trade on the platform. In Bloomberg’s money laundering story, a Binance spokeswoman denied that the exchange encouraged VPN use. But in the CFTC’s complaint, compliance officer Samuel Lim repeatedly wrote that people should use VPNs to trade on Binance from the US! For instance: In February 2019, Lim told Zhao “a huge number” of Binance’s customers who trade less than two Bitcoin “could be U.S. citizens in reality. They have to get smarter and

Binance really loved telling people to use VPNs, allegedly

“I HAZ NO CONFIDENCE IN OUR GEOFENCING.”

www.theverge.com

 

[ForgottenSeer 98186]

Binance really loved telling people to use VPNs, allegedly​

Everybody that participated on Reddit crypto subreddits knew Binance told US residents to use VPN to open an account. This was discussed as a workaround for years.

 

[Ink]

Good thing Binance is integrated into Brave!

I only see Brave Rewards and Talk widget cards in Brave NTP. Nothing for Binance, unless it's region-dependent?

 

[oldschool]

I only see Brave Rewards and Talk widget cards in Brave NTP. Nothing for Binance, unless it's region-dependent?

I could be wrong.

 

[Ink]

I could be wrong.

They did announce the partnership back in 2020, click here. However, I haven't seen the crypto-related Widget cards in Brave for over (+/-) a year. Meaning I don't know when it was removed or restricted from NTP.

 

[upnorth]

Crypto giant Binance has been accused of engaging in a "web of deception" as it was hit with another lawsuit by US financial regulators.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said the trading platform and its founder Changpeng Zhao ignored the rules meant to protect investors to keep operating in the US. Both the company and Mr Zhao are accused of mishandling customer funds. Binance said it would defend the platform "vigorously". The complaint from the SEC is the second lawsuit filed against the firm this year and follows promises by the US to police the crypto industry more aggressively. The company, which was founded in 2017 and is active in more than 100 countries, denied that customer money had been at risk.

"While we take the SEC's allegations seriously, they should not be the subject of an SEC enforcement action," Binance said, adding it had been in discussions with the regulator. It said the legal action was an example of regulators' "misguided and conscious refusal to provide much-needed clarity and guidance to the digital asset industry". Binance, which is registered in the Cayman Islands, is known as the world's largest platform for buying and selling cryptocurrencies and other digital assets.

The SEC's complaint outlined 13 charges, accusing the company and Mr Zhao of unlawfully soliciting investors and customers, misrepresenting the degree of trading on the platform and misleading the public about its oversight. Both the crypto firm and its founder are also alleged to have diverted customer funds to companies controlled by Mr Zhao, a Chinese-Canadian billionaire known in the industry as CZ. Mr Zhao and Binance "engaged in an extensive web of deception, conflicts of interest, lack of disclosure, and calculated evasion of the law," SEC Chair Gary Gensler said in announcing the 136-page lawsuit.

"The public should beware of investing any of their hard-earned assets with or on these unlawful platforms," he added. The filing comes as US authorities pledge to use existing laws to root out fraud and other issues in the crypto industry, especially after the dramatic collapse of Binance rival FTX last year. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission, another US financial regulator, filed its own lawsuit against Binance in March, accusing it of operating in the country illegally. It is also under investigation by the Department of Justice.

Binance accused of 'web of deception' in US

US financial regulators say Binance mishandled customer funds and ignored US laws.

www.bbc.com

 

[MuzzMelbourne]

So, Melania can scam NFT buyers but this guy can't even talk to US citizen's about crypto? And, let's not mention POTUS 43's behaviour...

Mmmm, seems fair I guess...

 

[vtqhtr413]

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed an emergency motion seeking to freeze the assets of Binance's U.S. platform and repatriate the funds held by its customers, including both fiat currency and cryptocurrencies. CNBC reports: The freezing order only applies Binance's two U.S. holding companies, not to the non-U.S. regulated international exchange. The order would apply to dozens of accounts held at Axos Bank, the defunct Silvergate Bank, Prime Trust, and other institutions. Two foreign entities also controlled by Zhao, Sigma Chain and Merit Peak, served as conduits for billions of dollars of customer money that was improperly commingled with Binance's funds, the SEC has alleged.

SEC Asks For Emergency Order To Freeze Binance US Assets Anywhere In the World - Slashdot

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed an emergency motion seeking to freeze the assets of Binance's U.S. platform and repatriate the funds held by its customers, including both fiat currency and cryptocurrencies. CNBC reports: The freezing order only applies Binance's two...

yro.slashdot.org

 

[vtqhtr413]

Binance.US, the U.S. affiliate of cryptocurrency exchange Binance, announced that it would halt dollar deposits and urged customers to withdraw their funds by Tuesday following a request from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to freeze its assets. Reuters reports: Binance.US, the purportedly independent partner of Binance, said in a tweet on Thursday that its banking partners were preparing to stop dollar withdrawal channels as early as June 13. The SEC sued Binance, its CEO and founder Changpeng Zhao, and Binance.US's operator on Monday, in a dramatic escalation of a crackdown on the industry by U.S. regulators. The SEC sued major U.S. exchange Coinbase a day later.

Binance.US To Halt Dollar Deposits After SEC Crackdown - Slashdot

Binance.US, the U.S. affiliate of cryptocurrency exchange Binance, announced that it would halt dollar deposits and urged customers to withdraw their funds by Tuesday following a request from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to freeze its assets. Reuters reports: Binance.US...

news.slashdot.org

 

[vtqhtr413]

The Securities and Exchange Commission and Binance have come to an agreement that will allow the cryptocurrency exchange to continue operating in the US until a lawsuit filed by the SEC earlier this month is resolved. The regulator sued Binance and founder Changpeng Zhao, better known as CZ, on June 5th, alleging the company had artificially inflated trading volumes, mixed and diverted customer assets and failed to restrict US investors from trading on Binance.com when they were supposed to stay on a separate US system.

In a court filing the SEC said Friday that Binance had agreed to move all assets belonging to US customers stateside. Additionally, the company’s US operation is prohibited from providing access or control of domestic assets or funds to Binance’s international operation or Zhao. Until the ligation is resolved, Binance.US is "solely" allowed to transfer assets “to make payments for expenses or to satisfy obligations incurred in the ordinary course of business.” Additionally, the exchange is required to create new customer wallets which its international employees can’t access. The deal still needs approval from Judge Amy Berman – and won’t resolve the SEC lawsuit even if it’s put in place.

Binance reaches deal with SEC to avoid US asset freeze | Engadget

The SEC and Binance have reached an agreement that will allow the cryptocurrency exchange to continue operating in the US until a lawsuit filed by the regulator earlier this month is resolved..

www.engadget.com

 

[MuzzMelbourne]

Some folk's just don't get the idea behind Blockchain.

This is simply a bunch of self-interested financial ludites scrambling to secure their butt's.