According to Binance lawyers, SEC Chairman Gary Gensler offered to serve as an advisor to Binance in 2019.
Documents filed as part of the ongoing litigation between the SEC and Binance claim Gary Gensler and Changpeng Zhao’s past. Binance lawyers said Gary Gensler had several meetings with Binance executives before taking on his tenure with the SEC and met with Changpeng Zhao for lunch in Japan.
Documents Show Zhao and Gensler’s Continuing Communication
Gary Gensler was a professor of Global Economics and Management Practices at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology when he made the offer in 2019.
Since Gensler’s appointment as SEC Chairman by Joe Biden in 2021, the SEC has filed lawsuits against crypto exchanges Coinbase, Bittrex, and Kraken. Just a few days ago, Gensler said in a statement regarding the Binance and Coinbase lawsuits: “We don’t need any more digital currencies.”
Recently filed documents show that Zhao remained in contact with Gensler after their encounter in March 2019 and conducted an interview with Gensler as part of the MIT cryptocurrency course the Binance founder was giving at the time.
Later that year, Gensler testified before the House of Representatives Financial Services Committee about Facebook’s proposed cryptocurrency and wallet, both of which were later revoked. Prior to the trial, Gensler reportedly sent a letter to Zhao stating: “I do not advise any financial, technology, blockchain or other companies and do not own any cryptocurrencies.”
Binance’s lawyers demanded that it withdraw from dealings with the company, citing the SEC Chairman’s ties to Zhao, and claimed that the SEC had not yet granted their request. The SEC, in its statement, claimed that Gensler was well aware of and fully complied with its ethical obligations, including any obligation of disclaimer.
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