In September, Binance.US, the American arm of the global cryptocurrency exchange Binance, grappled with a series of challenges that sent its trading activity plummeting to historic lows.
On September 16th, Binance.US reported a mere $5.09 million in trading volume, as disclosed by Amberdata on The TIE Terminal.
The lowest point of the month was recorded on September 9th when trading activity dipped to a paltry $2.97 million.
This stark decline is a stark contrast to September 17, 2022, when the exchange’s trading volume comfortably hovered around $230 million.
The turmoil surrounding Binance.US can be traced back to a lawsuit filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on June 5. The SEC accused both Binance and Binance.US of various infractions, including unregistered securities offerings and wash trading.
The allegations included Binance.US’s failure to register as a broker-dealer and to properly register its staking-as-a-service program.
In response to the lawsuit, Binance.US took the drastic step of suspending trading for more than 100 token pairs.
This move had a substantial impact on the exchange’s overall trading activity.
Internal challenges have further compounded the situation. Brian Shorder, the former CEO of Binance.US, resigned recently, joining a growing list of global executives who have departed the organization in recent weeks.
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Following Shorder’s departure, Head of Legal Krishna Juvvadi and Chief Risk Officer Sidney Majalya also announced their resignations.
Speculation is rife that these departures are linked to an ongoing investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice into Binance, its CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, and Binance.US. CZ, in a statement on X (formerly Twitter), indicated that Shorder’s exit was due to a “deserved break” and praised his contributions to the company.
The troubles for Binance.US appear to be far from over.
The SEC has accused the exchange of non-cooperation in the ongoing investigation, citing a meager production of 220 documents during the discovery process.
Additionally, a judge granted the SEC’s request to unseal previously sealed or redacted documents related to the case on September 15.
These documents are expected to shed further light on the ongoing legal challenges faced by Binance.US and are anticipated to become publicly available in the near future.
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