Binance.US exchange volume slumps amidst crisis

Trading activity on Binance.US has reached new lows in September as the crypto exchange faces unprecedented challenges. On Sept. 16, exchange volume stood at $5.09 million on Binance.US, as reported by Amberdata on The TIE Terminal.

The lowest point for the month was on Sept. 9, when trading activity totaled $2.97 million. This is a significant drop compared to Sept. 17, 2022, when its trading volume was around $230 million.

Binance.US exchange volume over the past 12 months. Source: The Tie Terminal/Amberdata

Binance.US is the offshoot in the United States of global crypto exchange Binance. On June 5, the Securities and Exchange Commission filed a lawsuit against both crypto exchanges on charges related to unregistered securities offerings, and wash trading, among other violations. As per the SEC, Binance.US allegedly failed to register as a broker-dealer and failed to register the offer and sale of its staking-as-a-service programme.

Since the lawsuit, Binance.US halted trading for over 100 token pairs, contributing to a sharp decline in exchange activity.

Binance.US turmoil also comes with internal challenges. Brian Shorder, then-CEO of Binance.US, stepped down last week, joining a number of global executives who left the group of companies over the past weeks. Following Shorder’s departure, Head of Legal Krishna Juvvadi and Chief Risk Officer Sidney Majalya announced their resignations as well.

According to reports, the departures are allegedly due to an ongoing investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice into Binance, its CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, and Binance.US. In response to speculation surrounding Shorder’s departure, CZ said on X (formerly Twitter) that the executive was taking a “deserved break.” CZ wrote:

“Under his leadership, Binance.US raised capital, improved its product and service offerings, solidified internal processes, and gained significant market share, all of which helped to build a more resilient company for the benefit of customers. We are grateful for his contributions.”

Binance.US’s problems seem to be far from over. The SEC recently accused the exchange of non-cooperation in 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 a motion to unsealed documents on the case. Those documents were sealed or redacted at the SEC’s request and are now being unsealed at its request. The documents are expected to be available in the coming days.

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