‘Unexpected and Disappointing’: Binance Reacts to CFTC Lawsuit

In response to a federal regulatory lawsuit targeting Binance that has rocked the crypto industry, the firm said the best path forward is to continue protecting its users while still working with regulators to develop a clear regulatory framework.

“The complaint filed by the CFTC is unexpected and disappointing as we have been working collaboratively with the CFTC for more than two years,” a Binance spokesperson told Decrypt in an email. “Nevertheless, we intend to continue to collaborate with regulators in the U.S. and around the world.”

On Monday, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) accused Binance—the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world—of violating trading and derivatives rules, alleging that Binance operated a facility for trading digital asset derivatives in the U.S. since at least July 2019, giving U.S. residents access to trade futures, swaps, and options on cryptocurrencies.

"We have made significant investments over the past two years to ensure we do not have U.S. users active on our platform," the company said. "We went from approximately 100 people in our compliance team to around 750 core and supporting compliance personnel today."

For example, Binance said that it has brought aboard former members of law enforcement and regulatory agencies, and spent over $80 million on transaction monitoring, market surveillance, and investigative tools to support its compliance program.

Binance added that it has implemented a “robust “three lines of defense” approach” to both risk and compliance, including mandatory KYC, blocking users who reside in the United States through banning U.S. IP address and cellular providers, and preventing deposits and withdrawals from U.S. banks.

“This is the CFTC attempting to strike [a] fatal blow to Binance,” tweeted Cinneamhain Ventures partner Adam Cochran, “And at first read through, I think they actually have really strong chances here of succeeding in toppling the Binance empire.”