“Some additional utility does not remove a crypto asset security from the definition of an investment contract,” Gensler said, though he added that tokens built for exclusive use in their blockchain ecosystems can be exempted from such accusations. “The investing public generally buys these crypto assets, at least in part, anticipating profit based on the efforts of those token issuers.” Source
Binance may have misled lawmakers in the United States about its business dealings and relationship with its local unit in a letter sent in March, Bloomberg reported on June 8. In a letter sent to United States Attorney General Merrick, senators Elizabeth Warren and Chris Van Hollen asked the Justice Department to investigate whether Binance made a false statement to Congress earlier this year. In a lawsuit filed on June 5, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) alleged that Binance’s global entity and American unit were commingled. Today we charged Binance Holdings…
The SEC sued Binance and Coinbase this week, presenting the industry with both further analysis on why it thinks certain cryptocurrencies are securities and its biggest test to how cryptos may be regulated in the U.S. going forward. Source
Senators Elizabeth Warren and (D-Mass.) and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md), in their letter to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, alleged the crypto exchange may have made false statements, including whether its affiliate Binance.US was indeed a separate entity as Binance had claimed. Source
The SEC, in its lawsuit against Coinbase, mentioned Solana (SOL), Cardano (ADA), Polygon (MATIC), Filecoin (FIL), Sandbox (SAND), Axie Infinity (AXS), Chiliz (CHZ), Internet Computer (ICP), Voyager Token (VGX), NEAR protocol (NEAR), NEXO, FLOW and DASH, driving their prices lower. Source
At the time Gensler was offered to be an advisor to Binance, he was teaching at Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Sloan School of Management. According to the lawyers of Binance and its CEO Changpeng Zhao, SEC chair Gary Gensler was offered to be an advisor to Binance’s parent company in 2019. Interestingly, Gensler has been spearheading the crackdown against the crypto industry over the past year. Binance and other crypto companies are currently under the radar of the US regulator over violations of securities laws. The SEC chair has repeatedly expressed…
The filing by the SEC cites Binance’s operations in Malta with CZ noting that he won’t have to appear in person. As per the lawsuit filed by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Binance chief Changpeng Zhao has been summoned to Malta. The SEC has accused the exchange of indulging in shady activities in Malta between 2018 and 2019. Binance chief Zhao cleared the air stating that he won’t need to appear in person to address the summons. “I was told this is just part of the SEC-compliant process.…
Binance is also pausing its OTC Trading Portal services in the US. The exchange said that it will notify users if and when the portal opens in the coming weeks and months. The US arm of top crypto exchange Binance has removed 10 advanced trading pairs from its platform. In an announcement, the exchange said it would let go of select BTC and BUSD Advanced Trading pairs by 9 am PDT on June 8, 2023. Notably, the company earlier planned to eliminate over 100 crypto assets. The initial decision was supposed to…
SEC says billions in customer funds were directed to Zhao’s firm Merit Peak via a holding company called Key Vision Development Limited. Source
Trading volumes on centralized exchanges have fallen to their lowest levels in more than four years amid mounting regulatory pressure from United States regulators and lawmakers. According to a June 7 report from crypto analytics firm CCData, combined spot and derivatives trading volume in May fell 15.7% from the previous month, marking the second consecutive month of dwindling crypto trading activity. As the data is only current to the end of May, it does not take into account any potential impact from the recent SEC lawsuits against Coinbase or Binance.…