On June 6, BNB Coin, the world’s fifth-largest crypto was investigated by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to find whether Binance violated the law with its 2017 BNB token sale, after a five-year wait.
After XRP, this is the second major crypto to be investigated by the SEC. This might be a worrying development for Binance, which is already facing significant regulatory challenges around the world, including in the United States. The SEC has been eager to take action against certain prominent ICOs for obtaining funds. According to a recent investigation, Binance was involved in a $2.35 billion money-laundering conspiracy. Sources further claimed that the new SEC inquiry may not result in the securities regulator suing the corporation.
According to the sources, Binance stated:
“It would not be appropriate for us to comment on our ongoing conversations with regulators, which include education, assistance, and voluntary responses to information requests.”
Binance has already been dealing with regulatory concerns in the United States. The US Justice Department, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) are also investigating Binance. Binance also remarked that it will continue to assist the authorities and that it will “continue to meet all regulatory standards.” The BNB coin is now trading at $285, with a market capitalization of $46.7 billion.
In addition to BNB, the SEC is looking into alleged insider trading by Binance employees and if Binance.US, a new American subsidiary launched in 2019, is properly separated from its worldwide equivalent. According to one of the individuals, the SEC is investigating market-making entities linked to Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao. The SEC is looking into Zhao’s ownership positions in Binance U.S. market makers.
