SEC asks court to audit Binance US; Binance’s trading volume is decreasing; Citi expands digital asset service!
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has said that Binance US has been very slow to produce documents and has asked for an audit of the company.
According to The Block, the regulator has requested various pieces of information from the exchange regarding customer assets, but BAM, the company behind Binance US, has yet to respond.
The SEC included the following statements in its filing:
“BAM insists that small document directories related to the control of customer assets should be accepted and states that ongoing concerns are just noise.”
The SEC’s complaint came shortly before a hearing on Binance in the US District Court for the District of Columbia.
SEC Calls For Review
The regulator called for an examination of Binance US, saying that BAM had prevented the disclosure of various documents relating to the custody of customer funds.
Among other things, the SEC stressed that BAM’s technological infrastructure and software should also be examined.
“The limited oversight that the SEC has been able to conduct to date demonstrates the urgent need for a comprehensive examination”.
The SEC also issued a statement regarding the departure of a number of senior executives from Binance US, stating that this issue underscores the need for expedited oversight.
While Binance continues to fight with the SEC, its trading volume continues to fall
While the legal process between the US Securities and Exchange Commission and Binance.US continues, the decline in the exchange’s trading volume continues in the same way.
According to data provided by CCData, Binance.US’s trading volume fell by 98% in August 2023 compared to January 2022. The decline continues in September. According to the data, the company’s operating volume was at $ 115.7 million until 15 September. The previous month was 286 million dollars.
According to Bloomberg, most of the decline took place in March, when the CFTC accused CZ of various violations. The SEC’s lawsuit against Binance.US on 5 June 2023 caused things to become even more complicated.
Binance lost Banking partners
Following the SEC’s lawsuit, Binance.US lost many banking partnerships and had to suspend US dollar deposits. The exchange, whose business is deteriorating by the day, also laid off many of its employees. Finally, Binance.US CEO Brian Shroder left the company.
According to data provided by CoinGecko, Binance.US has a daily trading volume of $10.5 million as of today. Coinbase, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the US, had a daily trading volume of $948 million.
Citi expands digital asset service
Citi has accelerated its efforts to expand its digital asset services.
According to The Block, Citigroup will expand its digital asset services with a programme for tokenized deposits with a new custody partnership.
In the statement, it was emphasized that the bank is the first digital custodian of the BondbloX Bond Exchange. Organized by the Monetary Authority of Singapore, BondbloX is known as the world’s first partial bond exchange.
Within the scope of the partnership, Citi customers will have access to BBX’s bond service, with the bank offering swap and custody services.
Citi’s Head of Digital Assets, Nadine Teychenne, made the following statements in a statement on the subject:
“Proprietary digital custody technology will allow us to offer our swap and custody services to our clients who invest in assets issued on supported and scalable blockchain networks.”
Gaining access to the global bond market
Citigroup became the custodian of BondbloX’s traditionally offered core bonds in 2021. With the latest agreement, Citigroup will also be the custodian of tokenised versions of the underlying bonds.
According to the press release made by the bank, this will pave the way for these products to reach institutional investors.
“This partnership will allow Citi clients and others to realize the full benefits of bond transactions almost immediately, with the support of Citi’s securities services. Digital custody is a major step in the transformation of the bond market and means that bond markets will be more transparent.”
