According to a report of The Information, citing “two reliable sources,” Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao plans to divest part of his majority stake in the US arm of the crypto exchange.
Making company more compliant
According to one of the article’s sources, the move was reportedly already in the works, while the other indicated that Binance.US executives have been discussing how the company can be more compliant with US regulators. This comes after these regulators recently turned their attention to Zhao’s global Binance venture.
In March this year, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), a major US derivatives regulator, filed a lawsuit against Binance in federal court in Chicago. In this, the company is accused of unauthorized trading of derivatives by offering futures, swaps and options on several major cryptocurrencies.
Allegations from US CFTC
The lawsuit alleges that Binance serves its customers in the US, without being registered with the CFTC.
“Binance has taken a calculated, phased approach to increasing its presence in the United States, despite publicly announcing its alleged intent to ‘block’ or ‘restrict’ customers in the United States from accessing its platform,” said Binance. the CFTC.
In addition to serving US customers without registration, the CFTC also accused the exchange of inadequate anti-money laundering (AML) and Know-Your-Customer (KYC) checks, alleging that the company is allegedly evading or helping to evade US regulators by to allow customers to escape their supervision.
Binance described the lawsuit as an “incomplete representation of the facts” and stated at the time that they were “disappointed and surprised by the complaint filed by the CFTC as they had been working with the regulator for over two years. Nevertheless, they intend to continue to cooperate with regulators in the US and globally.”