O’Leary Ventures Chairman Kevin O’Leary discusses his plans to build an oil refinery and reacts to the SEC’s lawsuits against crypto exchanges Binance and Coinbase on ‘The Claman Countdown.’
The U.S. arm of the world’s largest crypto exchange is suspending U.S. dollar deposits.
Binance.US says its banking partners are preparing to pause fiat dollar withdrawal channels as early as June 13,
The announcement comes just days after U.S. regulators sued Binance and its CEO Changpeng Zhao.
The firm made the announcement in a tweet on Thursday night.
CRYPTO EXCHANGE BINANCE, CEO HIT WITH CHARGES IN SEC LAWSUIT
Binance logo displayed on a phone screen and representation of cryptocurrencies are seen in this illustration. ((Photo by Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images) / Getty Images)
The company says it is taking “proactive steps” in its transition to a crypto-only exchange for the time being.
Trading, staking, deposits and withdrawals in crypto would remain fully operational, the exchange said in a notice to its customers.
In a 136-page complaint filed in federal court, the SEC accused Binance and the company’s CEO of operating a “web of deception.”
BINANCE, COINBASE CEOS’ FORTUNES TAKE HIT AFTER SEC CRYPTO LAWSUITS
Changpeng Zhao, founder and chief executive officer of Binance. (REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File Photo / Reuters Photos)
With its 13 total charges, the SEC complaint accused Binance Holdings, Zhao, BAM Trading and BAM Management US Holdings of committing breaches of the Securities Act and the Exchange Act, two U.S. laws pertaining to securities.
A day later, Coinbase, the largest U.S. cryptocurrency platform, was also sued.
.On Thursday, U.S. financial regulators said they supported a freeze on Binance’s assets, according to a U.S. SEC filing.
A representation of the cryptocurrency is seen in front of Coinbase logo. (Reuters/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo / Reuters Photos)
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Binance.US said in its tweet that the SEC’s take on cryptocurrency is “extremely aggressive and intimidating,” adding that it has created challenges between the exchange and its banking partners.
FOX Business’ Joe Toppe and Reuters contributed to this report.
