🏮 4 - Ignore FUD, Fake News, Attacks

The CFTC case against Binance points towards possible criminality, while CZ calmly tweets "4."

View this email in your browser Changpeng Zhao (CZ), the chief exec of Binance and its various entities, told users to "ignore FUD, fake news, attacks, etc." He denied that Binance has a quant trading firm in an AMA on November 14.   The CFTC thinks otherwise. "Binance traded on its own platform through approximately 300 'house accounts'... directed by Binance's 'quant desk,'" the commission said on March 27. This supposed 'fake news' doesn't seem particularly fake when you consider that the CFTC has access to records "collected from Zhao's telephone." CFTC lawsuit against Binance claims CZ traded against users It especially doesn't feel like FUD knowing that the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement TaskForce (NCET) and prosecutors in Seattle both feel as though they're ready to indict. Binance's lawyer, the former head of the Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Service (MLARS) in the Department of Justice (DOJ), has been negotiating with the current MLARS in the DOJ to try to strike a deal. Ever since the feds seized darknet marketplace Hydra, they've been working through various counterparties, including small crypto exchange Bitzlato. One of Hydra's largest counterparty still left standing is Binance. Samuel Lim, Binance's chief compliance officer, allegedly told some of his staff to warn a user: "Can let him know to be careful with his flow of funds, especially from darknet like Hydra," he wrote. Lim then continued, "He can come back with a new account but this current has to go, it's tainted." The deep ties between Binance, Bitzlato, and darknet market Hydra This certainly suggests Binance was aware of the flow of funds coming from Hydra and wasn't taking even minimal steps to manage it.   If I was NCET or a prosecutor in Seattle I would be increasingly frustrated with MLARS for holding up my indictment. Sounds from the Protos newsroom Here's what we listened to this week: Sounds from the Protos newsroom Follow us on Instagram In case you missed it, Protos is on Instagram! Make sure you follow us. Exclusive content coming soon 👀 In other news: SBF set to deny alleged Chinese bribe to unlock $1B Alameda funds Sam Bankman-Fried is expected to plead not guilty to charges related to a Chinese bribery scheme. The Senate hearing on the collapse of SVB was embarrassing The Senate did a bad job of responding to our banking crisis. SEC claims Beaxy founder took ICO funds for gambling The SEC takes aim at exchange tokens and the exchanges that trade them with its case against Beaxy. Judge says token holders could be liable for DAO hacks A judge in a class action lawsuit has ruled that DAO token holders can be liable for the decisions of the DAO. Chinese tycoon accused of secretly controlling Gettr to promote crypto Guo Wengui is accused of using his influence at Gettr to promote cryptocurrency. Author of Jan 6 insurrection plan to host war games at Bitcoin 2023 The author of the 1776 Returns insurrection plan is intending to host war games at the 2023 Bitcoin conference.  Copyright © 2023 Protos, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you opted in via our website. Our mailing address is: Protos 272 Kensington High Street London, UK W8 6ND United Kingdom Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.