Binance CEO Hits Back at CFTC Accusations

Binance CEO Changpeng (CZ) Zhao denounced allegations made by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) of the United States, rejecting its recent remarks about Binance’s manipulation of the market overall.

In a statement, published by the Binance website, Zhao described such claims as incomplete recitation of facts. Zhao stressed that his crypto exchange does not trade for profit or “manipulate” the market under any circumstances but “trades” in a number of situations, saying Binance’s revenues are in crypto. He referred to the need to convert some cryptocurrencies from time to time to cover expenses in fiat or other cryptocurrencies.

The US financial regulator has accused Binance and its CEO of illegally operating the country in a lawsuit that seeks fines and an injunction against the world’s prominent crypto trading exchange.

It also accused him of ignoring the US laws regarding the registration and regulatory requirements, saying it does extensive solicitation of and access to US customers.

Binance responded and noted that Binance is committed to transparency and cooperation with regulators and law enforcement (LE) in the US and globally. Binance currently has more than 750 people in our Compliance teams. The CEO cited the handling of more than 55,000 LE requests and assisted US law and enforcement agencies to freeze and seize more than $125 million in funds in 2022 alone and $160 million in 2023 so far.

The CFTC accused Binance and its CEO of insider trading, an accusation which was refuted by Zhao. He said that Binance has a 90-day no-day-trading rule for employees which prevents any employees from actively trading in addition to preventing them from any future trading.

Zhao also pointed out that Binance.com holds the highest number of licenses and registrations globally, 16 and counting.