Binance Financial News

Among other things, the SEC alleges that, while Zhao and Binance publicly claimed that US customers were restricted from transacting on the firm's international exchange, in reality they "subverted their own controls" to skirt this rule.Further, the SEC alleges that, while Zhao and Binance publicly claimed that the company's US exchange was created as a separate, independent trading platform for US investors, they secretly controlled Binance.US operations behind the scenes.According to the SEC, Zhao and Binance have been able to commingle customer assets or divert customer assets as they please, including to an entity Zhao owned and controlled called Sigma Chain. SEC chair Gary Gensler says: "Through thirteen charges, 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."As alleged, Zhao and Binance misled investors about their risk controls and corrupted trading volumes while actively concealing who was operating the platform, the manipulative trading of its affiliated market maker, and even where and with whom investor funds and crypto assets were custodied.

The company has failed in its bid to secure a virtual asset service provider (VASP) license in the Netherlands.It is not accepting new users with immediate effect and, from 17 July, existing users will not be able to make purchases, trades or deposits.Binance stresses that it is already compliant with EU standards on the prevention of money laundering and financing of terrorism as evidenced by its registrations in other EU countries, including France, Italy, Spain, Poland, Sweden and Lithuania.However, according to CoinDesk, it is facing money laundering troubles in France, where the authorities are investigating the firm.The probe relates to Binance potentially illegally operating as a digital asset service provider before it received regulatory approval last May.In addition, prosecutors tell CoinDesk, the investigation concerns possible "aggravated money laundering by taking part in investment operations, concealment and conversion, the latter being carried out by perpetrators of offenses having generated profits".In the US, the SEC has sued Binance and its CEO Changpeng Zhao, alleging a host of securities law violations and accusing the world's largest crypto exchange of engaging in an "extensive web of deception".

The legal troubles for world's leading crypto exchange Binance continue to mount as new reports suggest the exchange has been reportedly under investigation in France since early last year.

Global cryptocurrency exchange Binance has terminated its services in the Netherlands, making an exit from the Dutch market after a bid to obtain a virtual asset service provider (VASP) license failed.

Bitcoin is finally showing signs of recovery, but it continues to face challenges in breaking through the $25,600 level. 

Crypto Twitter was witness to a fierce debate this wee, with billionaire investor Mark Cuban accusing SEC’s Gary Gensler of throwing crypto under the bus while a former SEC official was quick to come to the regulator’s defense.

Binance.US and the United States Securities and Exchange Commission have agreed to work on an arrangement that will allow the exchange to avoid freezing all of its assets.

As Bitcoin continues its volatile journey, the latest statement from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has sparked concerns among investors.

Binance has carried out a round of layoffs since regulators last week charged it with violating securities laws and sought to freeze its assets, said two people with knowledge of the dismissals and employees' social media posts. One of the sources said around 50 people were laid off. Reuters was unable to independently verify the number or seniority of employees affected. A Binance.US spokesperson did not respond to emails and calls seeking comment. Employees in Binance.US' legal, compliance and risk departments were among those dismissed, the people told Reuters, requesting anonymity because the matter is private.

Cyprus unit has applied to be removed from Cyprus' register of crypto asset service providers, the securities regulator website showed on Wednesday, in a move Binance said would allow it to focus on its larger European businesses. It was unclear when Binance applied to deregister. The exchange, the world's biggest, announced its registration with the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission in October 2022. A source at the regulator said on Wednesday that Binance never launched its business in Cyprus. The Cyprus registration allowed Binance to offer spot trading, custody and other services in compliance with Cyprus's anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing rules, the exchange has previously said on its website. A spokesperson for Binance said it was pulling back on Cyprus to sharpen its focus on its other companies in the European Union ahead of the rollout of the EU's crypto asset regulations (MiCA).

US House Financial Services Committee Chair Patrick T. McHenry plans to hold a vote on a bill that would regulate digital assets by mid July.

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), which serves as the region's central bank and regulator, has reportedly put pressure on major banks including HSBC and Standard Chartered to accept crypto exchanges as clients.

Get your daily, bite-sized digest of cryptoasset and blockchain-related news – investigating the stories flying under the radar of today’s crypto news.__________

Binance.US and the US Securities and Exchange Commission are trying to reach a solution in order to avoid a total asset freeze.

Bitcoin payments firm Strike has extended the reach of its cross-border payments service to Mexico, as the company aims to leverage the country’s expansive remittances market.

Binance said in a tweet on Monday it would swap 750 million tether-tron token pairs for tether-ether in an attempt to maintain the stablecoin's liquidity. The move comes amid renewed regulatory scrutiny at the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange and will help cushion some of the fallout from recent blows, including Binance being sued by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The swap, set to start after 12 p.m. UTC on Monday, will be held directly with the tether team, the tweet said. Tether is the largest stablecoin that aims to maintain a 1:1 peg with the U.S. dollar. Tron is the ninth largest cryptocurrency with a $6.3 billion market value, while ether is the largest after bitcoin, with its $210 billion market capitalization.

Binance Coin (BNB), the cryptocurrency that powers the Binance Smart Chain, has seen a decent 9% bounce from its recent lows.

The price of BNB (BNB) is up around 3% today, in part due to bearish traders opening more BNB-tied contracts despite suffering losses via liquidations in the past 24 hours. In addition, BNB stands extremely "oversold," which may have prompted traders to buy the dip.

The crypto market remains volatile after the June 14 Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) announcement and presser with Fed Chairman Jerome Powell revealed that the central bank would pause rate hikes for June.

Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange by trading volume, is seeking to delist itself from the register of authorized crypto asset service providers (CASPs) in Cyprus in order to focus its efforts on complying with the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation.

Amid the panic over lawsuits against major cryptocurrency exchanges, one Bitcoin (BTC) advocate argued that the BTC market is much bigger than the one tracked by exchanges.