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SEC Wants to Start Scrutinizing Binance Chain Transactions

Company executives anticipated regulators might one day take an interest in Binance Chain

Updated Sep 14, 2021, 9:38 a.m. Published Jul 30, 2020, 2:37 p.m.
Binance CEO Changpeng "CZ" Zhao
Binance CEO Changpeng "CZ" Zhao

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) appears to be gearing up for a closer look at Binance coin and other tokens on cryptocurrency exchange giant Binance’s eponymous blockchain.

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  • SEC disclosed in a Wednesday memo that it intends to award Menlo Park, Calif.-based CipherTrace a single-source contract on the grounds it's the only blockchain analysis firm capable of tracing Binance Chain transactions.
  • "CipherTrace products are the only known blockchain forensics and risk intelligence tool that can support BNB and all tokens on the Binance network," the securities watchdog said in the contract description.
  • In November 2019, CipherTrace partnered with Binance to bring anti-money laundering tracing tools to Binance Chain, which hosts the exchange's nearly $3 billion market cap cryptocurrency BNB as well as 189 other tokens.
  • Company executives telegraphed in a press release that November the possibility of regulators one day putting eyes on Binance Chain. CipherTrace CEO Dave Jevans said regulators "demand better transparency," while Binance Chief Compliance Officer Samuel Lim said the partnership put Binance in line "with global regulatory standards."
  • CipherTrace, Binance and the SEC did not immediately respond to CoinDesk requests for comment.

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Pudgy Penguins is building a multi-vertical consumer IP platform — combining phygital products, games, NFTs and PENGU to monetize culture at scale.

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Pudgy Penguins is emerging as one of the strongest NFT-native brands of this cycle, shifting from speculative “digital luxury goods” into a multi-vertical consumer IP platform. Its strategy is to acquire users through mainstream channels first; toys, retail partnerships and viral media, then onboard them into Web3 through games, NFTs and the PENGU token.

The ecosystem now spans phygital products (> $13M retail sales and >1M units sold), games and experiences (Pudgy Party surpassed 500k downloads in two weeks), and a widely distributed token (airdropped to 6M+ wallets). While the market is currently pricing Pudgy at a premium relative to traditional IP peers, sustained success depends on execution across retail expansion, gaming adoption and deeper token utility.

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Crypto markets fell further overnight as bitcoin and ether extended losses, metals tumbled and liquidation pressure hit leveraged traders across derivatives markets.

What to know:

  • Bitcoin and ether extended declines as the crypto market compounded Thursday's selloff.
  • Silver and gold also fell, adding to broader market weakness alongside a firmer dollar.
  • Crypto liquidations hit $1.8 billion, while bitcoin dominance slipped as traders rotated into riskier altcoins.