Binance Founder and CEO Changpeng Chao spoke virtually at the April conference in Hong Kong. Anthony Kwan — Bloomberg/Getty Images
On May 12, Binance tweeted, “With the new guidance provided to cryptocurrency exchanges regarding stablecoins and investor restrictions, the Canadian market is no longer tolerable for Binance at this time.” We will actively withdraw.”
However, just two days ago, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange informed Binance that it was under investigation by the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) for possible circumvention of Canada’s largest province’s securities laws. not made clear.
The exchange, led by founder Zhao Changpeng, released a statement on its findings. submit this month According to a report with the Capital Markets Court, financial postthe Canadian newspaper reported on Tuesday.
“We believe this action by the OSC is groundless,” said a Binance spokesperson. luck in a statement. “The OSC requested virtually unlimited access to personal data in hopes of finding something inconvenient.”
According to the filing, Binance made this move after reaching an agreement with the OSC in March 2022 to make concessions, including restricting cryptocurrency trading in Ontario, due to the OSC’s “past conduct.” A survey was conducted. And this follows February 2023 guidance issued by the Canadian securities regulator, which compels exchanges to register with the authority or cease operations.
Two months later, stablecoin maker Paksi Islanddecentralized exchange dYdX, and other cryptocurrency companies have announced their withdrawal from the country. But Binance’s decision to pull out stood out because of the company’s size and Mr. Chao’s Canadian upbringing.
It’s unclear how much of the company’s announced exits were due to recent rulemaking by securities regulators, and it’s also unclear whether the OSC’s investigation into the exchange gave the exit further impetus.
“We will vigorously defend our business, the cryptocurrency community and the industry against this conduct,” a Binance spokesperson added in a statement.
An investigation into Binance by Canadian authorities is not the only regulatory and legal action against the company that has come to light in the past few months.
In late March, the U.S. financial regulator, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, filed a civil lawsuit against Binance, alleging, among other details, that the cryptocurrency trading platform facilitated “potentially illegal activities.” An exchange employee knew that
And less than a week later, class attorneys filed a $1 billion civil lawsuit against Binance, Zhao, and a group of crypto influencers for selling unregistered securities.
