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US: CFTC files charges against Binance and Changpeng "CZ" Zhao

According to multiple media reports, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is filing charges against crypto exchange Binance and CEO Changpeng "CZ" Zhao.

By Finst News
• 3 min read

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According to multiple media reports, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is filing charges against crypto exchange Binance and CEO Changpeng "CZ" Zhao.

In the complaint (PDF) it states that Binance has pursued a "calculated, step-by-step approach" since the platform launched in 2017 to "increase its presence in the United States, despite Binance publicly stating it would block or limit U.S.-based customers from accessing Binance’s platform."

Furthermore, the CFTC alleges that Binance and its CEO Changpeng "CZ" Zhao, as well as Samuel Lim, the former Chief Compliance Officer (CCO) of the company, were aware throughout the period that "U.S.-based customers of Binance were subject to applicable registration and regulatory requirements" but consciously ignored them, undermining Binance’s protocols.

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The defendants also took steps to help customers evade Binance’s access controls. In short, Zhao, Lim and Binance "ignored the applicable federal laws while approaching Binance’s customer base in the U.S. because it was profitable for them."

The CFTC is calling on the defendants to stop the illegal actions and practices and wants them to "comply with the law." It also seeks civil penalties and remedies, including, but not limited to, trading and registration bans, damages... and other measures the court deems necessary and appropriate.

From the 74-page complaint, the CFTC also contends that Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH) and Litecoin (LTC) are commodities. This is a question that U.S. regulators have wrestled with for years, and the CFTC and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) disagree on it. The SEC views these coins as securities.

Bitcoin’s price fell by about $1,300 from roughly $27,800 to about $26,500 after the charges were announced, before it partially rebounded a bit.

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