“ 4.”
First up: The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in early June sued Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, its founder Changpeng Zhao, and its U.S. affiliate Binance.US.
The civil lawsuit alleges that the defendants "blatantly ignored federal securities laws" and enriched themselves at the expense of investors.
Another reason is that it sold BNB and the stablecoin BUSD without registration, which led to news that BNB would be under pressure and BUSD would be delisted next year.
For reports on BUSD, please read this article:
The new stablecoin king ascends the throne: Under heavy pressure from the SEC, Binance gave up its eldest son and chose to enter Hong Kong?
As this incident continues, Binance founder Changpeng Zhao also started a series of adjustments:
1. Don’t panic “CZ tweeted a “4””
Changpeng Zhao first wrote "4" in this tweet, which is a popular saying in the Binance community, urging users not to fear and doubt the platform.
2. Richard Teng "denies becoming the second FTX"
Binance’s Richard Teng denies comparisons to FTX: “We welcome scrutiny”!
Binance’s regional leader Richard Teng insists that the global exchange is financially safe, unlike peer FTX, which went bankrupt despite recent regulatory scrutiny and challenges in the region.
Ahead of the 2023 Token2049 conference, Richard Teng spoke about the various challenges facing Binance’s regional branches and refuted reports that he is preparing to take over from founder Changpeng Zhao at the helm in the future.
3. CEO resigned and “lay off 1/3”
The leader of cryptocurrency exchange Binance US (Binance.US) has left the company, with the company laying off a third of its staff.
Brian Shroder, who joined the company as president and CEO in September 2021, no longer works at cryptocurrency derivatives trading giant Binance.US.
The former Uber executive's departure comes at an uncertain time for Binance.US, which announced internally on Tuesday that it would lay off a third of its staff.
4. The problem has not yet been resolved "Binance.US is difficult to continue"
Binance.US will not be able to grow until CZ sells shares or resolves legal issues.
As long as co-founder Changpeng Zhao remains formally associated with the company, Binance.US’s development options will continue to be limited.
Regardless, the regulatory environment and Zhao’s ties to Binance.US will be obstacles to the company’s growth. Through discussions, employees were presented with three potential options for the business in the current context and what would need to be done to make these options viable.
1. Continue the planned growth plan. Specifically, we will continue to launch new products such as stocks and futures trading, as well as new licenses for derivatives trading.
2. Reduce the company’s average expenditure on platform investment. This will facilitate investment in certain platform upgrades, such as sub-account functionality and infrastructure/AWS optimization.
3. Effectively hibernate until the company's situation improves significantly. This option will provide significant cost savings while still maintaining normal business operations and licensing.
It appears the company has opted for a third solution.
If CZ can improve its regulatory situation, or if the U.S. Congress passes some form of regulation that provides greater clarity, the company could continue its growth plans after its hibernation period.
If realized, a bull market is not far away.
5. The SEC launched an attack, “Alleging that Binance did not cooperate with the investigation.”
The SEC accused Binance.US of failing to cooperate with an ongoing investigation into the exchange.
The SEC noted in court documents that Binance.US parent company BAM provided only 220 documents during the discovery process. Many of the documents submitted under the consent order "include confusing screenshots and documents without dates or signatures."
The SEC added that BAM declined to provide required witness testimony and instead only agreed to statements from four witnesses it, in its sole discretion, deemed appropriate, saying:
“It made general objections to related communications requests and refused to provide documents it held in the ordinary course of business, claiming that such documents did not exist, but that the SEC subsequently received those documents from other sources.”
6. CZ posted “4” again “Binance US CEO needs to take a break”
Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) posted a tweet encouraging followers to “ignore the FUD” — this time surrounding the departure of a senior leader from Binance.US.
The announcement comes after three executives left the exchange this week, similar to previous moves by international exchange leaders.
In a tweet, CZ noted speculation surrounding recent management changes at Binance.US, one of which included the departure of CEO Brian Shroder earlier this week.
"Brian Schroeder is enjoying a well-deserved rest after accomplishing the goals he set out to do when he joined two years ago. We appreciate his contributions."
6. SEC VS BN "The deadlock intensifies, BNB holders need to be cautious"
Amid the ongoing standoff between the U.S. SEC and Binance US, BNB holders are wary of the cryptocurrency. On top of that, the exchange has lost many operators recently.
Pressure and regulation from the U.S. SEC further exacerbated the situation.
BNB traders are now concerned that the above issues could impact the cryptocurrency’s performance. Its on-chain data confirms that BNB holder confidence has declined since its peak on September 12.
The weighted sentiment index is at its lowest weekly level.
7. CZ tweeted to boost confidence "Origin of Binance Logo"
CZ tweeted about how the Binance logo was created.
After the logo design was completed, CZ and his friends Luke and Gareth (one of the two alleged co-founders of Binance) flew to Singapore to have the Binance logo tattooed on their arms. That happened in 2018.
According to CZ, the logo was created 16 months ago, in the summer of 2017, and the platform was launched with the help of IC0.
This is how the Binance logo was born!
CZ admitted that he and the other co-founders tried many different variations to create a logo for their cryptocurrency exchange.
The idea is to use two squares to represent Binance’s bid and ask prices. The name Binance stands for “binary finance.” They stacked one square on top of another, making it look a bit like a "figure eight." Although this is a lucky number in Chinese culture, they don't like the results.
Binance designer Tang proposed several other variations, CZ said, in which two slightly overlapping squares (like the number 2) appealed to CZ because the overlap symbolizes the buying and selling prices.
The next idea they used was to place these two slightly overlapping squares inside one large square, like two chess pieces on a chess board; this represents a cryptocurrency exchange that acts as a trading “playground.”
However, even so, the logo still appeared "weak" in CZ's opinion. Binance designers then thickened the lines of the two squares within the board. That’s it, CZ proudly writes.
8. Conclusion
Although Binance has faced a series of recent challenges, including disputes with the SEC and management changes, Alpha DAO is confident in Binance’s future.
Binance has always been an important player in the blockchain industry, and its founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) and his team have been promoting the development of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology.
We believe that Binance has the ability to resolve its current issues with the SEC and continue to make positive contributions to the global blockchain ecosystem.
As blockchain technology continues to mature and develop, we look forward to seeing Binance continue to play an important role in the future, providing a secure and efficient platform for digital asset transactions and driving the blockchain industry forward.
✏️Disclaimer: This article is for reference only, DYOR
📄Source: Alpha Investment Research Agency
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