Binance Almost Shutdown US Exchange To Protect Global Operations: The Information

Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, CEO and founder of Binance, was on the verge of shutting down the US arm of the crypto exchange earlier this year in a bid to protect the company overall, The Information reported on Tuesday.

A person familiar with the matter told the outlet that the board of directors of Binance.US, the major exchange’s US subsidiary, had voted to liquidate the company but could not reach a unanimous decision with Binance.US CEO Brian Shroder blocks the decision. Zhao serves as the CEO of Binance.US.

A Binance.US spokesperson had no comment when contacted.

Binance has come under increased regulatory scrutiny over the past few months in terms of conducting its global operations. Earlier this month, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sued Binance, Binance.US and CZ on the grounds that the companies were operating as an unregistered securities exchange. And in March, the US regulator Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) sued Binance and Zhao over allegations that the company knowingly offered unregistered crypto derivatives products in the US.

Binance has reportedly made massive staff cuts as part of its staff growth in response to the ongoing lawsuits.