Binance CEO Zhao Blasts CFTC Suit as Incomplete - Fires Shots in Crypto War
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Binance CEO Zhao Blasts CFTC Suit as Incomplete - Fires Shots in Crypto War

written by John Murphy | March 28, 2023

Changpeng Zhao writes that the company disagrees with characterizing many issues touting the exchange’s compliance technology. He also noted that he only has two Binance accounts. 

Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao said the lawsuit filed earlier in the day contained an imperfect representation of facts. Zhao said he “does not agree with the characterization of many of issues alleged in the complaint” or called the complaint “unexpected and disappointing.” 

Key Takeaways

  • The lawsuit alleges that the company, led by Mr. Zhao, instructed employees.
  • In a press release, CFTC lead attorney Gretchen Lowe called Binance’s actions.
  • Binance instructed U.S. customers to circumvent controls by using a private virtual network.
  • Zhao writes he has two Binance accounts. 
  • The complaint appears to contain incomplete factual statements.

The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, alleges that Binance operates a derivatives trading business in the United States, trading Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Litecoin (LTC), Tether (USDT) or Binance USD ( BUSD) was designated as a commodity in the lawsuit. The lawsuit also alleges that the company, led by Mr. Zhao, instructed employees to use a Virtual Private Network to disguise their location. 

He noted that the exchange’s compliance team has 750 employees,

“many of whom had previous law enforcement or regulatory backgrounds,”

and that the company has 16 licenses and licenses worldwide. I pointed out that I have registered. 

According to the CFTC, the exchange, which has a U.S. subsidiary Binance.US has created a system to hide true reach or operations. In a press release, CFTC lead attorney Gretchen Lowe called Binance’s actions “deliberate circumvention of U.S. law,” citing internal chats and emails.  

Additionally, the lawsuit alleges that Binance instructed U.S. customers to use various methods to circumvent restrictions on US-based customers.

“Binance instructed its U.S. customers to circumvent such controls by using a [privacy virtual network] to obscure their true location,”

the lawsuit states. 

Emphasizing Binance’s 90-day no-day trading policy, Zhao said employees are not allowed to sell coins within 90 days of their most recent purchase and vice versa. I am writing. This is to discourage employees from taking action. We also prohibit employees from trading futures, Zhao wrote.  

Binance Card
Soruce: Binance.com

The CFTC named the CEO as a defendant, saying that Mr. Zhao is a “direct, indirect owner of a company that conducts its trading activities on the Binance platform” or has “direct or indirect ownership of approximately 300 individual Binance accounts.” It also claims to be an indirect owner.” We operate prop trading on the Binance trading platform.  

Zhao writes he has two Binance accounts. One for Binance Card and the other for crypto. “I eat my own dog food and store cryptocurrency on Binance.com,

” he wrote, adding that he converted the cryptocurrency from time to time “for personal expenses and card payments.” 

“On initial review, the complaint appears to contain incomplete factual statements or we disagree with the characterization of many of the issues alleged in the complaint,” 

Zhao said. 

The lawsuit comes amid an increasingly widespread and high-profile crackdown on cryptocurrency companies. 

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