Binance.US booted from 2 US states, judge rejects Changpeng Zhao’s latest bid for release

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Binance’s U.S.-licensed exchange is being booted from two states while founder
Changpeng ‘CZ’ Zhao isn’t being booted from his U.S. confinement.

On January 25, the Wall Street Journal reported that the Alaska Division of Banking and Securities had decided not to renew the operating license of Binance.US. At the other end of the country, Florida’s Office of Financial Regulation reportedly suspended Binance.US’s money transmitter license last November, a week after Binance and CZ reached their $4.3 billion settlement of criminal charges with the Department of Justice.

Binance.US has been desperately trying to keep its lights on following a series of body blows, including CZ’s settlement, civil charges of violating securities laws filed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), massive layoffs, and U.S. traditional finance entities retreating from having anything to do with the notorious exchange.

Binance.US has been negotiating the survival of its other state-level money transmitter licenses, reportedly reaching an accommodation with regulators in Arkansas, Illinois, and South Dakota. Those states reportedly forced Binance.US to guarantee CZ’s inability to influence future business decisions. A Binance spokesperson told the WSJ the company was in “active dialogue” with officials in other states to retain a semblance of viability.

The SEC’s civil charges, plus a separate suit filed (and since settled) by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), exposed the fact that CZ was in complete control of the money U.S. customers deposited on Binance.US and had been transferring the cash outside the U.S. to accounts under his control.

Customers understandably panicked, withdrawing assets and closing accounts, leaving the exchange a shell of its former self. The site’s 24-hour trading volume was barely $13 million on January 26, $2.124 billion less than the rival Coinbase (NASDAQ: COIN) exchange.

While Binance.US may be intent on going down swinging, it’s anyone’s guess how much longer it can carry on as a going concern, given that its legal bills likely exceed its revenue. Binance.US lawyers were in court last week trying to argue that the SEC case should be dismissed because it’s just not pretty when people beat dead horses.

The two parties showed little sign of agreement in their most recent joint status report to the court on January 25. The SEC claims Binance.US parent companies (collectively referred to as BAM) continue to withhold documents and communications the SEC believes are “important aspects” of their complaint. BAM replied that while it plans to make “one final production of documents” to the SEC this week, it “does not believe that there are any gaps in its productions.”

The SEC also believes it has the right to conduct more depositions with Binance staff, while Binance (surprise!) disagrees. The parties were similarly split on the scope of the SEC’s investigation of Binance’s software. The parties’ next status update is due February 15.

Judge rejects CZ’s pledge of billions for release

Meanwhile, we learned last week the lengths to which CZ was prepared to go to temporarily free himself from his DoJ-imposed confinement in Washington State. CZ’s sentencing on his criminal charges is scheduled for February 23.

CZ previously requested the right to temporarily return to his partner and children in Dubai ahead of his sentencing, but these appeals were rejected by U.S. District Court Judge Richard Jones. The judge agreed with prosecutors that CZ’s lack of formal ties to the U.S., his immense wealth, and the likelihood that he could serve significant time in prison
made him a significant flight risk.

Court documents released last week show that CZ’s late-December request for release was based on his desire to return to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), where an unidentified individual he claims to be close to was scheduled for “hospitalization and surgery.” CZ even submitted medical records in case Judge Jones remembered CZ’s documented proclivity for lying his ass off when it served his interests.

CZ, who remains in the U.S. on a $175 million release bond, wanted to travel on January 4 and stay in Abu Dhabi for up to four weeks. CZ reportedly offered to pledge his entire equity in Binance.US—valued at $4.5 billion based on the exchange’s last funding round two years ago but certainly worth a fraction of that valuation these days—as a security that he would return for sentencing in February.

The DoJ wasn’t amenable to CZ’s request, prompting a hearing on December 29 to discuss the matter before Jones. The judge was evidently unmoved by CZ’s promises and pledges and denied the request.

BSC security incidents hit all-time high last year

Binance’s in-house BNB Smart Chain (BSC) has long held the dubious honor of being the top target of hackers and other malicious actors, but a new in-house report claims that the situation dramatically improved in 2023.

The report, which contains “crucial contributions” by AvengerDAO members Ancilia, Certik, Hashdit, and Salus Security, claims that the total financial value lost on BSC fell from a peak of $1.12 billion in 2022 to just $161.2 million in 2023.

This 85% decline was enough to lower BSC from first to fourth on the chart of most vulnerable chains. Ethereum claimed that title with over $1 billion lost last year, nearly twice as much as was lost in 2022. Tron suffered a major spike in attacks last year, with losses topping $400 million, while Fantom also reported a major drain of $171.5 million.

However, the number of security incidents on BSC rose by 44% to an all-time high of 414 over the same period, suggesting that much of the reduction in financial losses has to do with the decline in value tokens endured throughout 2023.

The report acknowledges this factor (although it’s somewhat buried towards the end) by noting the total value locked across decentralized finance (DeFi) projects was down 85% in 2023. Regardless, the report insists that “other factors also play important roles in influencing the losses within the ecosystem.”

BSC’s total funds lost would have been more than one-third higher had centralized exchanges—including Binance—and other entities not acted to freeze around $55 million in stolen funds last year, allowing them to be recovered.

This willingness to act is a far cry from Binance’s historic approach to stolen assets, including its 2020 refusal to freeze certain accounts that accepted coins stolen from an Australian man, despite admitting that it was “highly likely the paths leading to this account are malicious.” But then again, those stolen tokens weren’t stolen from a Binance-linked entity, so…

In terms of types of BSC attacks, most of 2023’s value-lost reduction was in hacks, which fell from nearly $871 million in 2022 to $73.2 million last year despite the number of hacks nearly doubling over the same period.

DeFi remains the most popular target for attackers, with the number of DeFi attacks rising by two-thirds to 352 in 2023. The number of outright scams was up 14% last year, while the value lost to these scams fell by 54% to $87.9 million. Rugpulls claimed the biggest slice of attacks at 35.2%, with Ponzi schemes second with 22.5% and hot wallet compromises third with 17.1%.

Follow CoinGeek’s Crypto Crime Cartel series, which delves into the stream of groups—from BitMEX to Binance, Bitcoin.com, Blockstream, ShapeShift, Coinbase, Ripple, Ethereum, FTX and Tether—who have co-opted the digital asset revolution and turned the industry into a minefield for naïve (and even experienced) players in the market.