Binance draws Senate's wrath

U.S. senators representing both Democrats and Republicans are demanding that Binance and Binance.US provide a detailed accounting of their finances.

A letter addressed to Binance.US President Brian Shroder and Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao signed by Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) says what “little information about Binance’s finances is available to the public suggests that the exchange is a hotbed of illegal financial activity that has facilitated over $10 billion in payments to criminals and sanctions evaders.”

Binance is the world’s biggest crypto exchange, with nearly 60% market share.

The senators’ letter cited “investigations into criminal sanctions evasion, money laundering conspiracy, unlicensed money transmission, questions about its financial health, and increased scrutiny over its intentionally ‘opaque corporate structure.’ ”

Binance.US is supposed to be a separate entity from Binance, but the senators allege that Binance allowed U.S. users to access its global site, which they are supposed to be prohibited from using. Founded in China in 2017, Binance says it has no official headquarters. Binance.US says its headquarters are in San Francisco.

The letter cited recent Reuters reporting that cast doubt on the extent to which the two entities were really independent of each other. Zhao is reported to be the majority owner of both Binance and Binance.US.

Binance.US said they “welcome engagement with policymakers and look forward to responding to the senators’ requests.”