CFTC chief says Binance deliberately violated regulator’s rules

Binance deliberately violated the rules set by the US Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). This was stated by the agency’s head Rostin Behnam, Bloomberg reports.

“They’re not ordinary people. They build large companies and offer futures contracts to American clients,” he said.

The official noted that there is a clear understanding of the need to register with the Commission and to comply with the laws in the event of launching such products in the United States.

Behnam also stated that Ethereum and stablecoins are recognised as commodity assets, whereas the SEC их трактует как ценные бумаги.

Earlier, the CFTC chief described Binance’s actions toward U.S. customers “fraud”.

On March 27 the Commission filed suit against the Bitcoin exchange and its CEO Changpeng Zhao, accusing them of unregistered derivatives trading, providing services to U.S. citizens and to sanctioned persons, and of failing to comply with anti-money-laundering rules.

The regulator sought fines and injunctions, including a ban on conducting business in the country.

Earlier, Zhao stated that the CFTC’s allegations contain “an incomplete account of the facts,” and his company does not agree with the characterization of many points.

Subsequently, he condemned “coercive crypto-regulation” by the watchdogs.