CFTC Says Access To US Customers Is a “Privilege” In Wake of Binance Case

CFTC Says Access To US Customers Is a “Privilege” In Wake of Binance Case

24 November 2023

By Brian Yue | @brian-yue

The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission is showing no signs of letting up in its battle against crypto firms.

In a statement published on Tuesday regarding the resolution of the Binance case, CFTC Commissioner Christy Goldsmith Romero declared, “There are no pirate ships in US markets. Access to US customers is a privilege, not a right.”

Romero added that the CFTC’s case against former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao and the crypto exchange was just the beginning, and that her Commission would continue to “aggressively go after crypto platforms operating in U.S. markets that seek to evade the CFTC’s customer protection regime.”

Earlier this week, Zhao agreed to pay $50 million in fines after pleading guilty to violating money laundering rules. Binance, the crypto exchange he co-founded in July 2017, was hit with a $4.3 billion fine for noncompliance and money laundering offenses – the largest fine in crypto history.

The CFTC is set to receive a share of the settlement as Binance permitted US customers to engage in trading unregistered cryptocurrency derivatives.

Romero noted that Binance was aware that its platform facilitated illegal activities by terrorist organizations such as Hamas and darknet marketplaces such as Hydra.