In one month, Chinese users of Binance exchanged US$90 billion in cryptocurrency-related assets
In China, where cryptocurrency trading has been prohibited since 2021, Binance customers moved US$90 billion (approximately Rs. 7,42,800 crore) in assets connected to cryptocurrencies in a single month, according to a story published on Tuesday by the Wall Street Journal, which cited internal data and current and former exchange workers.
The WSJ said that except for deals done by a small fraction of extremely large traders, the transactions made China Binance’s biggest market by a significant margin, accounting for 20% of volume globally. The report did not mention which month the transactions took place.
Despite having Chinese roots, the largest crypto exchange in the world withdrew from the country in 2017 due to a governmental crackdown. A Reuters request to respond to the Journal article was answered after some time.
A firm spokeswoman informed the Wall Street Journal that “the Binance.com website is blocked in China and is not accessible to users based in China.”
US regulators, including the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), have also closely monitored the exchange.
The SEC sued Binance and CEO Changpeng Zhao, alleging that Binance had artificially inflated its trading volumes, diverted customer funds, failed to bar US customers from its platform, and misled investors about its market surveillance controls. The CFTC sued Binance for operating what it claimed was an “illegal” exchange and a “sham” compliance program.
According to Reuters, the US Justice Department is also looking into the exchange for potential money laundering and sanctions breaches.
