Binance CEO CZ Responds to US Regulator’s Charges

Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) has addressed the allegations against him by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). “We do not agree with the characterization of many of the issues alleged in the complaint,” the executive stressed.

The CEO of cryptocurrency exchange Binance, Changpeng Zhao (CZ), published a blog post on Monday to address the civil enforcement action against him and his crypto exchange by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The U.S. regulator charged Zhao and three entities that operate the Binance platform “with numerous violations of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) and CFTC regulations.”

Noting that the CFTC’s civil complaint against him and Binance was “unexpected” and “disappointing,” Zhao explained:

Upon an initial review, the complaint appears to contain an incomplete recitation of facts, and we do not agree with the characterization of many of the issues alleged in the complaint.

“We will only be able to give full responses in due time,” CZ noted and proceeded to address some key points. Firstly, he claimed that “Binance.com has developed best-in-class technology to ensure compliance,” adding: “We block U.S. users by nationality (KYC), IP (including commonly used VPN endpoints outside of the US), mobile carrier, device fingerprints, bank deposit and withdrawals, blockchain deposits and withdrawals, credit card bin numbers, and more.”

The executive emphasized that his crypto firm is “committed to transparency and cooperation with regulators and law enforcement (LE)” both in the U.S. and globally, elaborating:

Binance currently has more than 750 people in our compliance teams, many with prior law enforcement and regulatory agency backgrounds.

He added that to date, Binance has handled more than 55,000 law enforcement requests and assisted U.S. authorities in freezing and seizing more than $125 million in funds in 2022, and $160 million in 2023 so far. “We intend to continue to respect and collaborate with U.S. and other regulators around the world,” CZ stressed, adding that “Binance.com holds the highest number of licenses/registrations globally, 16 and counting.”

After revealing that he personally has two accounts at Binance, one for Binance Card and one for his crypto holdings, Zhao claimed that Binance.com does not engage in trading for profit or market manipulation. “Binance.com has a 90-day no-day-trading rule for employees, meaning you are not allowed to sell a coin within 90 days of your most recent buy, or vice versa,” he additionally shared. “We also prohibit our employees from trading in Futures. Further, we have strict policies for anyone with access to private information, such as details of listings, Launchpad, etc. They are not allowed to buy or sell those coins.”

The Binance boss concluded:

I observe these policies myself strictly. I also never participated in Binance Launchpad, Earn, Margin, or Futures.

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