• Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) searched Binance Australia’s office on Tuesday.
• The search is part of an investigation into the cryptocurrency exchange’s now-defunct derivatives business.
• Binance CEO, Changpeng Zhao, admitted that external pressure is hurting the company.
Binance Australia Office Searched by ASIC
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) searched several offices of Binance Australia on Tuesday. The search was part of an ongoing investigation into the cryptocurrency exchange’s now-defunct derivatives business, according to a Bloomberg report.
External Pressure Hurting Binance
At a Twitter Space event Wednesday, Binance CEO, Changpeng Zhao (CZ), admitted that external pressure is hurting the company. He stated that; “Many of those things are outside of our control, but short term, they have negative impacts on our business.“ Data obtained from CCData shows that Binance now controls 42% of the global crypto spot trading volume, a 10-month low for the company.
Scrutiny From Governments Worldwide
Binance has been experiencing crackdowns from governments around the world in recent months. Last month, the US SEC sued Binance and its CEO for breaking securities laws. Brazilian authorities also revealed that they were investigating Binance for suspected pyramid schemes while also looking into whether or not it was helping customers get around a restriction on crypto derivatives investments in Brazil.
Binance Drops Licence Application in Austria
On June 22nd, Austrian regulators denied Binance’s application to operate in the country leading to them dropping their licence application there as well as dropping their plans to launch a Euro-based stablecoin pegged to EURO currency reserves held in European banks in Liechtenstein and Germany respectively.
Focus On Compliance
Despite all this scrutiny from governments worldwide, Binance remains focused on complying with rules and regulations set out by countries where it operates. Following ASIC’s office search on Tuesday a spokesperson said; “Binance will continue to work constructively with regulators and law enforcement agencies around the world.“