Crypto giant Binance is facing regulatory pressures in the US, including a lawsuit by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission over multiple alleged violations. 

The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) filed a lawsuit against Binance Holdings CEO Changpeng Zhao, chief compliance officer Samuel Lim and three entities operating the Binance platform, according to a statement. CFTC alleges that Binance has made numerous violations of the Commodities Exchange Act (CEA) while operating through an «intentionally opaque common enterprise». 

«The defendants allegedly chose to knowingly disregard applicable provisions of the CEA while engaging in a calculated strategy of regulatory arbitrage to their commercial benefit,» the statement said. 

«I have been clear that the CFTC will continue to use all of its authority to find and stop misconduct in the volatile and risky digital asset market,” added CFTC chair Rostin Behnam. «For years, Binance knew they were violating CFTC rules, working actively to both keep the money flowing and avoid compliance.»

Binance Response

In response, Binance defended itself against the filing which it called «unexpected and disappointing» with complaints that «appears to contain an incomplete recitation of facts».

According to the crypto exchange, it has «best-in-class technology» blocking US users and a 750-strong compliance team. It has also handled over 55,000 law enforcement requests, assisting US authorities in freezing or seizing over $125 million in funds in 2022 and $160 million in 2023 thus far.

«While we are not perfect, we hold ourselves to a high standard, often higher than what existing regulations require,» Zhang said in a blog post.

Regulatory Barrage

Aside from CFTC, Binance is also facing pressures from other authorities in the US. 

The Internal Revenue Service and federal prosecutor have been examining Binance’s compliance with anti-money laundering rules. The Securities and Exchange Commission has also been scrutinizing whether the crypto exchange has supported the trading of unregistered securities.