American stock market watchdog is suing crypto giant Binance: digital currency deep in the minus | Economy

Binance and Zhao allegedly mishandled customer deposits, misled investors and regulators, and violated securities regulations. SEC Chairman Gary Gensler argues that consumers should not place their “hard-earned assets” “through or with these illegitimate platforms.”

The document filed by the SEC in Washington federal court lists a total of thirteen charges. Binance allegedly operated without a license in the US.

The company is accused, among other things, of having created “an extensive web of deception”, including setting up “sham checks” in order to continue operating. Customers with a large portfolio could use a VPN connection to hide the fact that they traded from the US, the American channel ‘CNBC’ reports. Billions of dollars in funds were also reportedly transferred to Zhao’s European company. In addition, there is also “market manipulation” and Zhao is said to have traded cryptos himself.

Binance called the charge disappointing in a response. The crypto exchange says it has been in talks with the SEC for a long time to settle the matter. Binance also says it will defend itself in court. Binance is not a publicly traded company in the US. The crypto exchange has no official headquarters, but falls under the rules of the island state of Bermuda, which is seen by some as a tax haven.

Binance has been banned in the United States since 2019. After that, the company founded subsidiary Binance.US that would comply with all the rules, but that too has already been banned in six states. And now the authorities are behind it because Binance.US is not really separate from the parent company.

Cryptocurrencies fell in value considerably after the news of the US indictment. For example, bitcoin was worth 6.3 percent less at more than $ 25,500 (converted to 23,804 euros). Other cryptocurrencies lost up to almost 10 percent in value.