Refusing to back down, CZ-led Binance is mulling plans to file a petition seeking a dismissal of the CFTC lawsuit against it. This was revealed in a recent filing to an Illinois District Court, and before July 27, multiple Binance entities, Zhao, and former Chief Compliance Officer Samuel Lim are considering submitting two separate petitions to drop the complaint.
“The Foreign Binance Entities and Zhao intend to file a joint Motion to Dismiss the Complaint. Lim intends to file a separate Motion to Dismiss the Complaint and join parts of the motion filed by the Foreign Binance Entities and Zhao,” the filing read.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission, or CFTC, accused the exchange and its CEO, Changpeng Zhao [CZ], of not properly registering the exchange, conducting illegal transactions, and intentionally violating U.S. laws. The regulator that oversees the derivatives market also called the exchange’s compliance process a “sham” and alleged it wilfully conducted its activities outside of the U.S. and hid its headquarters’ location with the aim of evading U.S. regulations.
Besides the CFTC, Binance is also reportedly under investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice for allegedly allowing Russians to utilize its platform in defiance of American sanctions. Along with these regulatory actions that have intensified the pressure on the crypto industry, the top 20 exchanges, including market leader Binance, have seen a considerable slowdown in the number of spot trades.
Binance Retains Top Position Despite Drop in Spot Trade Volume
Even so, the trading platform continued to have a dominant edge in the second quarter of 2023, controlling 60% of the spot trading volume in the first half of 2023. In comparison to the same time last year, it shows a stable performance.
According to a recent report from CoinMarketCap on exchange activities [CEX and DEX] in H1 2023, The Top 5 Exchanges jointly contributed to nearly 85% of the overall spot market volume. The three firms with the greatest average liquidity scores—Binance, Coinbase, and Kraken—all thrive at 700.
In the large-cap category, Binance in particular has performed well in terms of liquidity and has prioritized adding high-quality mainstream coins to its listings. While the majority of exchange tokens had gains in the first half of 2023, they were unable to match Bitcoin’s remarkable 182% year-to-date rise.