Trading activity on Binance.US reached new lows in September as the crypto exchange faced unprecedented challenges. As reported by Amberdata on The TIE Terminal, trading volume on Binance.US on September 16 was $5.09 million. The low point for the month occurred on September 9, when trading activity totaled $2.97 million. This is a significant decrease from September 17, 2022, when trading volume was around $230 million.
Binance’s US arm is in trouble
Binance.US is the United States branch of global crypto exchange Binance. On June 5, the Securities and Exchange Commission filed suit against both crypto exchanges over accusations of unregistered securities offerings and wash trading, among other violations. According to the SEC, Binance.US allegedly failed to register as a broker-dealer and to offer and sell its staking-as-a-service program. Since the lawsuit, Binance.US has halted trading for more than 100 token pairs, contributing to a sharp decline in exchange activity.
The turmoil at Binance.US has brought internal challenges as well. Binance.US’s then-CEO Brian Shorder resigned last week, joining a string of global executives who have left the conglomerate in recent weeks. Following Shorder’s departure, Chief Legal Officer Krishna Juvvadi and Chief Risk Officer Sidney Majalya also announced their resignations. According to reports, the departures allegedly stem from an ongoing investigation by the US Department of Justice into Binance, its CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, and Binance.US. In response to speculation about Shorder’s departure, CZ said in a statement on X (formerly Twitter) that the manager was taking a “well-deserved break.” CZ wrote:
Under his leadership, Binance.US raised capital, enhanced its product and service offerings, consolidated its internal processes, and gained significant market share; all of which helped build a more resilient company for the benefit of customers. We are grateful to him for his contributions.
Binance problems do not end
It looks like Binance.US’ problems are not over yet. The SEC recently accused the exchange of failing to cooperate with the ongoing investigation, claiming it produced only 220 documents during the discovery process. In another development, a judge issued an order on Sept. 15 granting the SEC’s request to unseal documents related to the case. These documents were sealed or redacted at the request of the SEC and are now being unsealed again at the request of the SEC. The documents are expected to be made available in the coming days.
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