Exclusive-Crypto giant Binance controlled ‘independent’ U.S. affiliate’s bank accounts

A senior Binance executive was the main operator for five bank accounts belonging to the giant cryptocurrency exchange’s purportedly independent U.S. affiliate, including an account that held American customers’ funds, bank records show. U.S. lender Silvergate Bank authorized the executive, Guangying Chen, a close associate of Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, to operate the accounts in 2019 and 2020, according to records from those years. This allowed Chen and her deputies to move funds held in the

• 2023-06-05
• Changpeng Zhao Guangying Chen Silvergate Bank bank accounts bank account bank records company messages Hertenstein Chen Catherine Coley

Exclusive-Crypto giant Binance moved $400 million from U.S. partner to firm managed by CEO Zhao

Global cryptocurrency exchange Binance had secret access to a bank account belonging to its purportedly independent U.S. partner and transferred large sums of money from the account to a trading firm managed by Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, banking records and company messages show. Over the first three months of 2021, more than $400 million flowed from the Binance.US account at California-based Silvergate Bank to this trading firm, Merit Peak Ltd, according to records for the quarter, which were

• 2023-02-17
• Changpeng Zhao Silvergate Bank Catherine Coley Merit Peak Binance trading firm bank account Prime Trust global exchange Susan Li