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The SEC is probing Binance over its BNB token

The federal agency is reportedly looking into the initial coin offering of the BNB token.

Binance phone app

The SEC is probing Binance.

Photo: Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images

The Securities and Exchange Commission is reportedly opening an investigation into Binance over the 2017 initial coin offering of its BNB token, according to a Bloomberg report. The agency's said to be examining whether the token’s offering constitutes a security sale, which would have needed to be registered with the agency.

This isn’t the first time that Binance has found itself in hot waters with U.S. regulators, with an ongoing SEC probe over CEO Changpeng Zhao’s links to two firms trading on Binance.US. Other investigations include a joint investigation by the Internal Revenue Service and the Department of Justice over tax and money laundering concerns, and a Commodity Futures Trading Commission investigation into insider trading and market manipulation.

Binance has recently continued to win regulatory approvals in Europe and the Middle East, most recently in France, Italy, and Dubai.

On the latest SEC probe, Binance said that “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” in a statement to Bloomberg, and that it “will continue to meet all requirements set by regulators.”

Lindsey Choo
Lindsey Choo is a former Protocol reporter covering fintech. She is a graduate of UC San Diego, where she double majored in communications and political science. She has previously covered healthcare issues for the Center for Healthy Aging and was a senior staff writer for The UCSD Guardian. She can be reached at lchoo@protocol.com.
cryptocurrencycrypto regulationbinancechangpeng zhaosec
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