The SEC reportedly opened an investigation into Binance to find out whether its BNB token was an unregistered security during the 2017 initial coin offering, Bloomberg. The BNB coin is mainly used to pay transaction fees on Binance, which is currently the largest cryptocurrency exchange ever. The company is also facing another, separate SEC – launched in February – on the alleged relationship between the founder and the two trading companies. DOJ, IRS and CFTC also investigations last year into the company for a number of potential criminal violations, including insider trading and market manipulation.
“As this industry evolves at a rapid pace, we have worked very hard to educate and support regulatory and law enforcement agencies in the United States and internationally, while complying with new guide. We will continue to respond to all requests set forth by regulators,” a Binance spokesperson wrote in an email to Engadget in response to a request for comment. Engadget has also reached out to the SEC for comment and will update if we receive a response.
The SEC over the past few years has expanded of ICOs due to not registering with the agency before going public. The agency’s specific investigation into Binance also seeks to find out whether an affiliated exchange Binance.US launched in the United States in 2019 after the latter exchange. – is actually a separate entity from China-based Binance.
Binance is reported to have processed at least $2.35 billion in illicit transactions involving drugs, hacking, and fraudulent activity, according to a new report. Reuters investigation today. The story details some of the famous Binance hacks, including a from North Korean hacking group Lazarus. Binance in one answer Reuters , wrote that it was “full of falsehoods” and published its email exchange with the news agency. During the exchange, Reuters reporters asked Binance to confirm many details from their report, including whether the company had taken any action to mitigate any further illegal activity. Based on published emails, Binance appears to have declined to provide the requested details to Reuters in the filing.
“We regret that Binance declined our interview request. As we explained earlier, we cannot commit to keeping an entire briefing meeting because it would be unethical for us to withhold important information from an article,” Reuters reporter Angus Berwick in an email to Binance spokesman Patrick Hillmann.
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