US CFTC sues Binance and Jao CEO | coindesk JAPAN | Coindesk Japan

Cryptocurrency exchange Binance and its founder, Changpeng Zhao, are accused of violating federal law by offering unregistered crypto derivatives products in the United States. The Commission (CFTC) sued both on March 27.

Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Litecoin (LTC), stablecoins Tether (USDT) and Binance USD (BUSD) are commodities, according to a complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on the 27th. It was said.

After the lawsuit was reported, Bitcoin fell about $1,000, Binance Coin (BNB) fell about 3%, and crypto-related stocks also fell.

According to the CFTC, Binance has built a system to hide its whereabouts.

The CFTC’s lead attorney, Gretchen Lowe, called Binance’s actions a “deliberate circumvention of U.S. law.”

Additionally, Binance instructed its U.S. customers to use various methods to circumvent the restrictions, the complaint reads.

“Binance was aware that U.S. customers make up a significant percentage of its customer base,” the complaint said, citing an internal monthly report sent to Zhao.

A Binance spokesperson did not specifically comment on the complaint, but said the company “has increased its compliance team from 100 to 750 people and spent $80 million on KYC and other compliance matters.” We have invested heavily over the last two years to keep American users from being active on our platform.”

“The allegations filed by the CFTC are unexpected and disappointing, given that we have been working with the CFTC for over two years. The best course of action is to protect users and work with regulators to create a clear, well-thought-out regulatory regime.”

A Binance spokesperson said that Binance now maintains “a country-by-country block for all U.S. residents,” which will block “anyone identified as a U.S. citizen, regardless of where they live in the world.” Said it was blocked. It also said it blocked US mobile carriers and IP addresses in addition to US bank accounts.

｜Translation: coindesk JAPAN
｜Editing: Takayuki Masuda
| Image: Binance CEO Changpong Zhao (CoinDesk archives)
｜Original: CFTC Sues Binance, CEO Zhao Over ‘Willful Evasion’ of US Laws, Unregistered Crypto Derivatives Products