Binance,
the largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, mixed up customer funds
with company revenue between 2020 and 2021, Reuters reports on Tuesday, citing
“three sources familiar with the matter.” The act violates the US financial
laws that require both funds to be separated, the outlet said.
A source
which had direct knowledge of the crypto exchange’s group finances, told the
news agency that Binance blended its earnings with its customer’s money, with
the figure running into “billions of dollars.” The source further siad the violation occurred
“almost daily” in accounts held by Binance at now-liquidated US
lender Silvergate Bank.
Reuters earlier reported in February that Binance had secret access to a bank account
held by its United States arm, Binance.US, through which CEO Changpeng Zhao
between January and March 2021 moved over $400 million to a trading firm called
Merit Peak Limited.
For its latest investigation, Reuters noted that while it could not independently confirm the
source’s figures, it obtained a bank record showing that Binance on February
10, 2021, mingled $20 million from a corporate account with $15 million from an
account dedicated to receiving customers’ funds. Furthermore, Reuters said it
could not find evidence that customer funds were lost as a result of the
commingling.
Providing Binance’s reaction to the allegations,…
