#Binance news us how to#

Which, you know, isn’t something you want to be caught doing. The commission, which regulates US derivatives trading, said the company and its CEO, Changpeng Zhao, “instructed its employees and customers to circumvent compliance controls in order to maximize corporate profits.”

#Binance news us how to#

Here’s the deal: The CFTC alleges that Binance and its CEO violated US trading laws by, among other things, secretly coaching “VIP” customers within the United States on how to evade compliance controls. Obviously, Binance took one look under the hood at FTX, now at the center of a massive federal fraud investigation, and promptly bailed.) (And if that name sounds familiar, it may because back in November, Binance briefly flirted with bailing out its smaller rival, FTX. Today, that regulator sued Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, for allegedly doing just that. And if you’re a big international platform for trading crypto derivatives, you can’t let Americans trade those products if you haven’t registered with the boring-sounding but not-to-be-trifled-with federal regulator known as the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, or CFTC. The company continued: 'We have a strong track record of assisting law enforcement agencies around the world, including in the United States.If you live in America, you’re not allowed to trade crypto derivatives. 'We have worked hard to build a robust compliance program that incorporates anti-money laundering principles and tools used by financial institutions to detect and address suspicious activity.' 'We take our legal obligations very seriously and engage with regulators and law enforcement in a collaborative fashion,' Binance said. Yesterday, the company issued a statement on Twitter asserting its compliance with US laws.

It is now incorporated in the Cayman Islands, according to Bloomberg, a notorious tax haven used by corporations and the wealthy to hide their finances. If you ask experts, they'll tell you that lawmakers are facing the eternal dilemma of playing catch-up with technological innovation.īinance was founded in China, but was forced to move out of the country in the wake of a ban on crypto trading in 2017. Meanwhile, the IRS has reportedly been expanding its ability to track individuals who owe taxes based on cryptocurrency investments. US officials worried about the lack of oversight over digital assets fear they are being used to cover up illegal transactions, including drug deals. The company's entanglement with federal law enforcement arrives amid growing regulatory scrutiny of cryptocurrencies. Bloomberg adds that Binance also previously advised Americans to use a VPN to hide their location when seeking access to its exchange. Though the company has repeatedly rejected the claims, crypto news sites have said its restrictions on Americans can easily be bypassed. It's prohibited from doing business in the US because it offers securities that aren't registered with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

Regulators are also investigating whether Binance permitted Americans to make illegal trades, sources told Bloomberg. A recent report from blockchain forensics firm Chainalysis said Binance was a top destination for illicit cryptocurrency in 2019. However, the fact is the cryptocurrency exchange - which is banned from operating in the US - has been fielding money laundering allegations for a while now. According to Zhao, Binance had “collaborated with law enforcement agencies to fight bad players,” adding that the story made that 'look like a bad thing.' Without explicitly naming the article, he tweeted that the 'news' painted his company in a negative light. However, the publication did not confirm whether the investigations were tied to criminal violations, claiming that not all inquiries stem from 'allegations of wrongdoing.'īinance's CEO Changpeng Zhao was quick to interject with his side of the story. Adding to the volatility, conflicting reports claim the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance, is under investigation by the US Department of Justice and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).Īccording to Bloomberg, officials interested in how crypto is being used for money laundering sought information from those familiar with Binance's dealings.

In the span of five months, meme currency Dogecoin has seen prices spike, PayPal has opened cryptocurrency trading and Tesla performed a u-turn on Bitcoin payments. It's turning out to be another duly eventful year for crypto.