Binance and flouting of regulation is covered in this blog. I am still shocked these companies and FTX earlier were treated with such positive attitude by regulators and this action has been a long time coming.

Here is the news coverage.

Jun 5, 2023 3:55 PM EDT

Cryptocurrency exchange Binance mishandled funds and violated securities laws, SEC lawsuit saysPBS

WASHINGTON (AP) — The world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange Binance and its founder Changpeng Zhao are accused of misusing investor funds, operating as an unregistered exchange and violating a slew of U.S. securities laws in a lawsuit filed by the SEC.

Filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, the Securities and Exchange Commission lawsuit on Monday lists thirteen charges against the firm — including commingling and diverting customer assets to an entity Zhao owned called Sigma Chain.

Binance is a Cayman Islands limited liability company founded by Zhao and the charges are familiar to practices uncovered after the collapse of the second largest cryptocurrency exchange, FTX, last year

Coinbase Is Facing a ‘Life or Death’ Battle With the SECBloomberg

More than two years ago, when the crypto exchange filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission to start publicly trading its shares, it said there was a “high degree of uncertainty” regarding the legality of its operations, warning that “regulators may disagree” with the company’s view that it wasn’t covered by their rules. 

That possibility became reality on Tuesday, when the SEC sued Coinbase for failing to register with the agency as a broker, an exchange or a clearing firm — all roles that the company plays in a cryptocurrency market where many tokens are, according to the agency, actually unregistered securities. The regulator also alleged that Coinbase’s staking program, which allows customers to lock up their coins in return for a share of rewards offered by various blockchains, violates securities laws, as well. 

Binance

The charges came a day after the SEC brought a similar case against rival Binance Holdings Ltd., marking a sharp escalation of its efforts to rein in a shadowy industry that burned investors with blowups like the collapse of FTX last year. The SEC’s push is particularly fraught for Coinbase, which generated over 80% of its revenue in the US last year and is now facing a near existential threat to its business model.

Tags #binance #coinbase #SEC #cryptocurrency #cryptocurrency-exchange