Crypto shares tumble as Binance SEC lawsuit ripples through industry
channelnewsasia.comCryptocurrencies and shares in crypto and blockchain-related companies tumbled on Monday (Jun 5) after the United States securities regulator sued crypto exchange Binance, another blow to the industry.The US Securities and Exchange Commission sued Binance and its CEO Changpeng Zhao for secretly controlling Binance.US as part of a "web of deception" to evade US laws, among other charges.
Reuters earlier reported that Binance controlled its US affiliate’s bank accounts, despite claiming it was independent.The SEC also said Binance artificially inflated trading volumes on the platform, diverted customer funds and failed to restrict US customers from its platform and misled investors about market surveillance controls.Bitcoin, the world's biggest cryptocurrency was down 5.45 per cent after falling to its lowest level since mid-March following the news.
Binance's cryptocurrency fell 9.72 per cent.The charges filed in a federal court in Washington, DC, are the latest in a string of enforcement actions brought by the agency in a bid to curtail the cryptocurrency industry, which SEC Chair Gary Gensler has described as "the wild West".The SEC crackdown has prompted some crypto companies to increase compliance, spike products, and expand overseas, moves that some market-watchers said would likely be accelerated by this latest action against the world's largest crypto exchange."This is yet another targeted attack that is devastating in the crypto ecosystem.
Pretty soon, the SEC won’t have anyone left to sue," said John Reed Stark, a former chief of the SEC's Office of Internet Enforcement.In statements, Binance said it had been cooperating with the SEC's probes and had "worked hard to answer their questions and address their
