Key Takeaways
- Binance CEO CZ, took to Twitter to announce a cease and desist order against “Binance Nigeria Limited,” referring to the Nigerian company as a “scammer entity.
- Earlier this month, Nigeria’s markets regulator has issued an order for Binance to halt its operations in the country
Binance, the renowned global cryptocurrency exchange, is facing mounting regulatory challenges on multiple fronts. In the latest development, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, also known as CZ, took to Twitter to announce a cease and desist order against “Binance Nigeria Limited,” referring to the Nigerian company as a “scammer entity.”
This action comes shortly after Nigeria’s markets regulator issued an order for Binance to halt its operations in the country due to the lack of registration and regulation of its local unit, Binance Nigeria Limited, rendering it illegal.
Simultaneously, Binance and its founder Changpeng Zhao are grappling with a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The SEC has accused Binance and Zhao of orchestrating a “web of deception” and has levied 13 charges against them. Despite reportedly earning a staggering $11.6 billion from U.S. customers, Binance and Zhao are alleged to have failed to register as an exchange, broker-dealer, or clearing agency.
SEC has alleged that, while Binance publicly claimed that Binance.US was a separate, independent trading platform for US investors, the founder Zhao secretly controlled the US company behind the scenes.
One day prior to Binance’s CZ calling the Nigerain firm a scammer entity, the crypto exchange and the US Securities and Exchange Commission had reached an agreement to avoid a full asset freeze of the platform in the US and keep customer assets in the United States.
In a consent order finalized on Saturday, Binance.US has agreed to repatriate assets held for its domestic customers and ensure that they are under the control of personnel within the United States.
The order specifically stipulates that Binance Holdings, the parent company, and CEO Changpeng Zhao will not have access to these funds. Additionally, the order requires Binance.US to restrict its spending to regular business expenses and comply with expedited discovery procedures concerning the custody and security of client assets.
