Share this article
Binance Could Face U.S. Fraud Charges, but Prosecutors Worry About Risk of Bank Run: Semafor
The price of bitcoin (BTC) and Binance's BNB token immediately fell following the report.
Updated Aug 3, 2023, 3:43 p.m. Published Aug 2, 2023, 5:04 p.m.
Crypto exchange Binance could face U.S. Department of Justice fraud charges, though prosecutors are weighing alternatives given the risk of an FTX-style bank run, Semafor reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
The price of bitcoin (BTC) and Binance's BNB token immediately fell following the report.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today. See all newsletters
U.S. officials are worried an indictment could imperil the broader cryptocurrency industry, according to Semafor. For that reason, they are weighing alternatives such as "fines and deferred or non-prosecution agreements," sources told the publication.
Binance declined to comment. The Justice Department didn't immediately respond to CoinDesk's request for comment.
It was already publicly known U.S. officials were scrutinizing Binance. Earlier this year, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) sued the company and founder and CEO Changpeng "CZ" Zhao for "willful evasion" of U.S. laws.
But the pain caused by last year's collapse of Sam Bankman-Fried's FTX, as well as the long history in traditional finance of failed firms – like Lehman Brothers in 2008 – dragging down the rest of the industry, show the risk of going after a systemically important institution. Binance is the largest crypto exchange in the world.
FTX's demise erased billions of dollars in value from crypto markets, tarnished the industry's image and pushed the large lending business of Genesis (which, like CoinDesk, is owned by Digital Currency Group) into bankruptcy court.
UPDATE (Aug. 2, 2023, 18:02 UTC): Adds context.
More For You
What to know:
- As of October 2025, GoPlus has generated $4.7M in total revenue across its product lines. The GoPlus App is the primary revenue driver, contributing $2.5M (approx. 53%), followed by the SafeToken Protocol at $1.7M.
- GoPlus Intelligence's Token Security API averaged 717 million monthly calls year-to-date in 2025 , with a peak of nearly 1 billion calls in February 2025. Total blockchain-level requests, including transaction simulations, averaged an additional 350 million per month.
- Since its January 2025 launch , the $GPS token has registered over $5B in total spot volume and $10B in derivatives volume in 2025. Monthly spot volume peaked in March 2025 at over $1.1B , while derivatives volume peaked the same month at over $4B.
More For You
French Banking Giant BPCE to Roll Out Crypto Trading for 2M Retail Clients
The service will allow customers to buy and sell BTC, ETH, SOL, and USDC through a separate digital asset account managed by Hexarq.
What to know:
- French banking group BPCE will start offering crypto trading services to 2 million retail customers through its Banque Populaire and Caisse d’Épargne apps, with plans to expand to 12 million customers by 2026.
- The service will allow customers to buy and sell BTC, ETH, SOL, and USDC through a separate digital asset account managed by Hexarq, with a €2.99 monthly fee and 1.5% transaction commission.
- The move follows similar initiatives by other European banks, such as BBVA, Santander, and Raiffeisen Bank, which have already started offering crypto trading services to their customers.
Top Stories
