Three US senators sent a letter to Changpeng Zhao and Brian Shroder, CEOs of Binance and Binance.US respectively, last Wednesday (1st), announcing the “Opaque corporate structure” from brokers.
Citing articles from various newspapers such as Reuters, Bloomberg, CNBC, WSJ, CoinDesk and Forbes, the senators are seeking Binance’s answers to allegations of US regulators’ evasion, lack of transparency, money laundering and sanctions evasion.
“We are writing to request information regarding growing concerns about risk management, financial and regulatory compliance from Binance, Binance.US and other related entities.”
As the basis of the text, Elizabeth Warren, Chris Van Hollen and Roger Marshall used the FTX case to express their concerns about the practices of Binance, now the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world.
Binance Articles Mentioned by US Senators
In total, the letter to the executive directors of Binance and Binance.US contains 59 external articles, 22 of which were published by Reuters. Right from the start, the text mentions an investigation by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) into Binance, which was supposed to have started in 2018, but has never been made public.
“Since Binance was founded, the company has faced increasingly troubling allegations about the legality of its operations”, points to the letter from the senators. “Mr. [Changpeng] Zhao “refused to disclose the location or entity behind its own brokerage,” in what many see as a blatant attempt to circumvent the world’s financial regulators, cater to “unlicensed users” and violate anti-money laundering laws.”
The text follows with examples of Reuters stories, such as when the newspaper accused Binance of facilitating US$11 billion laundering by scammers and human traffickers.
However, other portals were also mentioned. For example, Elizabeth Warren and her colleagues are asking for an explanation of the freezing of withdrawals of the stablecoin USDC, denounced by CNBC, and the so-called “Tai Chi document”, which is still being revealed by Forbes in 2020.
The offensive action by US senators therefore shows that Binance has become the main target of regulators after the FTX crash. Before the bankruptcy, FTX was the second largest exchange in the cryptocurrency market.
What did Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao say about this?
At the time of writing, Binance and Binance.US have not yet commented on the matter. Changpeng Zhao, founder of Binance, posted a photo on his social media showing the number “four” on his fingers.
— CZ 🔶 Binance (@cz_binance) March 3, 2023
According to an old message from Zhao himself, the number should be interpreted as “ignore FUD, fake news, attacks, etc.”
However, your photo may be related to another event that took place this Friday (3). According to Zhao himself, fake news circulating on China’s largest social network claims that he was killed by the US.
“Someone photoshopped this and it spread widely on WeChat in China. It says I was shot by the FBI, with whom our team works closely… 4.”
Someone photoshopped this and it was widely spread on WeChat in China. It says I was shot by the FBI, with whom our team works closely… 🤷♂️ 4. pic.twitter.com/2Iz7c1QgA8
— CZ 🔶 Binance (@cz_binance) March 3, 2023
Ultimately, US senators expect Zhao to respond to them as quickly as the executive branch responded to fake news attacks. However, this mission seems to require a bit more effort.
Source: Live Coins
Barry Siefert is an accomplished journalist and author at The Nation View. He is known for his expertise in the field of cryptocurrency, and has written extensively on the topic. With a background in finance and economics, Barry has a deep understanding of the underlying technology and market forces that drive the crypto industry.
