Crypto Market News: Binance chief executive officer Changpenf Zhao “CZ” on Thursday refuted claims that the crypto exchange diverted as much as $12 billion in user funds to other companies controlled by the CEO. The clarification comes after reports said CZ diverted customer funds to a company called Merit Peak. Meanwhile, US Senators Elizabeth Warren and Chris Van Hollen called on the US Justice Department to investigate crypto exchange Binance, in the wake of the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) complaint.
The SEC lawsuit alleges that Binance engaged in the unregistered offer and sale of securities, besides commingling investor funds with the company’s own funds. Interestingly, this was immediately followed by the Coinbase SEC lawsuit.
Binance CEO Clarifies About User Funds
Explaining the decline in user funds in response to the SEC lawsuit, the Binance CEO said all the user funds are accounted for and that they never left in unauthorized manner.
Reiterating his usual stance of “4,” which means news leading to fear and uncertainty, CZ maintained that the SEC lawsuit is an attack on the entire crypto market and not just the exchange.