‘A Dark Day for Crypto,’ Says Analyst, as Binance Faces CFTC Lawsuit

• Terra researcher no longer considers Binance CEO a trustworthy crypto ambassador.
• The US regulator CFTC accused Binance of violating futures transaction laws.
• Binance CEO said employees follow a 90-day no-day-trading rule.

FatMan, a well-known figure from the Terra Research Forum, expressed disappointment in Changpeng Zhao, the CEO of Binance, following allegations of secret in-house trading by the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

“A very dark day for crypto,” FatMan wrote, adding that he “considered Binance CEO to be an upstanding and trustworthy ambassador” of the crypto space. However, learning that the exchange had secret in-house trading accounts and access to proprietary client data “is disheartening and jarring.”

However, in response to the allegations, the Binance CEO said the exchange does not trade for profit or manipulate the market under any circumstances. Zhao clarified that Binance only converts crypto to fiat periodically to cover expenses. He added that they have a 90-day no-day-trading rule for employees and strict policies for anyone with access to private information, such as listings details and Launchpad.

On Monday, reports say the CFTC filed a lawsuit against Binance, alleging, among other things, that the exchange operated a derivatives trading operation in the US, offering trades for crypto, including Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Litecoin (LTC), Tether (USDT), and Binance USD (BUSD).

Additionally, the regulator accused Binance of violating laws governing futures transactions and illegal off-exchange commodity options, inadequately implementing know-your-customer standards, and anti-money laundering processes.

Some experts have argued that the CFTC could require Binance to cease the operations of its US subsidiary, Binance.US, as part of a potential settlement. Notably, Binance.US makes up less than 5% of the exchange’s global operations.