The US Securities and Exchange Commission has filed 13 charges against Coin An and its founder Zhao Changpeng

Bitcoin, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, and its founder, have been accused by the SEC, causing Bitcoin to fall below $26000.

On June 5th local time, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced on its official website and social media platforms that it has filed 13 charges against the entity and founder Zhao Changpeng, including operating unregistered exchanges, brokerage dealers, and clearing houses; Provide false transaction control and supervision statements on the Binance. US platform; Providing and selling securities without registration.

Tweets released by the SEC

The SEC stated that Binance Holdings Ltd. operates Binance. com, the world's largest crypto asset trading platform. Among them, BAMTradingServices Inc., a subsidiary headquartered in the United States (BAMTrading) operates Binance. US together with Coin An. In addition, Zhao Changpeng, the founder of Coin An, is suspected of multiple violations of securities laws.

The SEC mentioned that although Zhao Changpeng and Coin An publicly claimed that American customers were restricted from trading on Binance.com, they actually secretly allowed high-value American customers to continue trading on Binance.com. In addition, although Zhao Changpeng and Coin An publicly claim that Binance. US is an independent trading platform created for American investors, they secretly control the behind the scenes operations of Binance. US.

The SEC claims that Zhao Changpeng and Coin An control the assets of platform customers, allowing them to merge or transfer customer assets according to their own wishes, including transferring to an entity owned and controlled by Zhao Changpeng called SigmaChain. The SEC's indictment further accuses BAMTrading and BAMManagementUSHoldings, Inc (BAMManagement) misleads investors about trading controls that do not exist on the Binance. US platform, while SigmaChain engages in manipulating trading and artificially increasing platform trading volume. In addition, the indictment states that the defendant concealed the fact that they mixed billions of dollars in investor assets and sent them to a third party, MeritPeakLimited, which also belongs to Zhao Changpeng. In 2018, Binance's Chief Compliance Officer sent a message to a colleague stating that we were operating an unlicensed stock exchange in the United States.

SEC Chairman Gary Gensler stated: It is alleged that Zhao Changpeng and Coin An misled investors in risk control and false trading volume, while actively concealing who manipulated trading on the operating platform and its affiliated market makers, and even concealing the custody location and objects of investors' funds and encrypted assets. In order to keep high-value American clients on their platforms, they attempted to evade US securities laws by announcing false controls they ignored behind the scenes. The public should be aware of this Do not invest your hard-earned funds in these illegal platforms

After foreign media reported that the SEC accused Qian An and Zhao Changpeng, the cryptocurrency market quickly fell in response. On the afternoon of June 5th local time, Bitcoin plummeted significantly, dropping from around $26800 to around $25500.

Image from CoinMarketCap

Prior to the SEC's public announcement, Zhao Changpeng denied any relevant foreign media reports. Zhao Changpeng once posted a tweet on June 5th at 11:27, including the number "4", and stated that the company team is on standby to ensure system stability, including withdrawals and deposits. We will respond after seeing the lawsuit. We haven't seen it yet. The media obtained the information before us

The tweet released by Zhao Changpeng

On January 2nd, Zhao Changpeng posted a tweet stating that if the number "4" is mentioned in the future, it means "ignoring FUD (fear, uncertainty, and doubt), fake news, and attacks".

In March, Coin An and Zhao Changpeng were accused by the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) of intentionally evading federal laws and operating illegal digital asset derivatives exchanges.