Binance CEO Challenges Lawsuit, Touts Crypto Trading Platform As 'Best-In-Class'

Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao says the allegations in the civil complaint filed against the company by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) are inaccurate and incomplete.

Binance and Zhao violated trading and derivatives regulations, the CFTC says.

The lawsuit was filed on Monday in federal court in Chicago.

According to the lawsuit, Binance facilitated trades in cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin BTC/USD, Ether ETH/USD, Litecoin LTC/USD, Tether USDT/USD, and Binance USD BUSD/USD, which the CFTC refers to as commodities.

Binance failed to register as a futures commission merchant, and did not implement the required anti-money laundering procedures, the CFTC maintains. And Zhao instructed employees to use virtual private networks (VPNs) to disguise their locations.

The lawsuit states that "Binance provided U.S. customers with the means to trade and speculate in cryptocurrency derivatives without registering with the CFTC, despite being required to do so."

Responding to the allegations, Zhao says the complaint contains "an incomplete recitation of facts."

The company claims to be one of the few global exchanges with mandatory Know-Your-Customer (KYC) programs. Zhao also touted Binance's technology as "best-in-class" and that "no other company" uses systems more "comprehensive or more effective" than Binance.

Binance's compliance team has more than 750 people, many with prior law enforcement and regulatory agency backgrounds, he explained, adding that the company has assisted law enforcement in freezing and seizing over $125 million and $160 million in 2022 and 2023, respectively.

Zhao noted, "Binance is committed to transparency and cooperation with regulators and law enforcement (LE) — in the US and globally."

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