The US is suing Binance, the largest cryptocurrency platform, for improper practices

A new blow to the cryptocurrency sector. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) — the body in charge of regulating futures markets in the United States — yesterday filed a lawsuit against Cryptocurrency platform Binance (the largest in the world) and against its founder, Changpeng Zhao, in federal court in Chicago. US authorities allege that both may have committed “numerous violations” of the country’s financial and regulatory standards.

“Over the years, Binance knew it was violating CFTC rules by actively working both to keep money flowing and to prevent compliance, the regulator’s chairman, Rostin Benham, said in a statement. If it is finally confirmed that Binance commit such irregularities, the platform could face significant fines and, even worse, they could be banned from operating in certain areas.

According to researchers, as of July 2019. Binance allowed its US clients to trade futures or commodities through assets such as bitcoin without registering in the country. At times, it even ordered its employees to falsify locations using virtual private networks (VPNs). What’s more, the US agency believes the platform had a “secret conspiracy” underway to help important clients evade security controls. The regulator. According to the agency, various emails and internal chats show that while Binance made a show of complying with these regulations, it was all a “scam.” The company, they added, “deliberately chose, time and time again, to put its profits above compliance with the law.” And the CFTC clearly points to Zhao and Samuel Lim (the company’s former CEO) as the main makers of all strategic decisions. In fact, the regulator asserts that Binance operates through a large network of opaque entities in different countries, all controlled by Zhao, to evade certain regulations and make it difficult for regulators to identify those responsible and clients.

The CFTC thus joins other organizations such as the Internal Revenue Service or various federal prosecutors who have investigated the platform.