The Chief Executive Officer of Binance, Richard Teng, said the Securities and Exchange Commission did not respond to several attempts by the cryptocurrency exchange on licensing processes and regulatory frameworks.
In a statement from the firm, obtained by Sunday PUNCH, Teng criticised the SEC for failing to respond to the company’s repeated attempts to seek guidance on licensing processes and regulatory frameworks.
According to Teng, Binance wrote to the SEC multiple times, seeking practical guidance on virtual asset service provider regulations, but never received a response.
He expressed frustration and disappointment, noting that the lack of communication from the SEC had created uncertainty and challenges for the cryptocurrency exchange.
He noted, “For example, in a letter dated June 22, 2022, Binance stated that it would welcome and be grateful for the opportunity to collaborate with the SEC and other industry players in the blockchain coalition over the coming days to provide further clarity on the application of the new rules, particularly around the interaction of these rules, vis-à-vis the position taken by the Central Bank of Nigeria, the fee structure for licensing, and the impact of the registration on the facilitation of bank accounts in the region.”
Furthermore, Binance revealed that in the letter it sent the SEC at that time, the exchange reiterated that it was “fully committed to cooperating with the commission and complying with the relevant regulations”.
According to Teng, Binance also requested a meeting with the SEC, but no response has been received.
“Again, the SEC did not respond. We’ve continued to engage constructively with the SEC by providing commentary on their amended regulations as recently as March 29, 2024,” he said.
The Nigerian government had blamed Binance for the depreciation of the naira, accusing it of fixing exchange rates on its platform.
As a result, the exchange was forced to stop naira services on its platform as Nigeria continues to crack down on cryptocurrency traders.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has also accused Binance and its employees of concealing the source of revenue generated in Nigeria, knowing that the funds constituted proceeds of unlawful activity.
In a March notice, the SEC proposed a 400 per cent increase in registration fees for crypto firms, doubled the minimum paid-up capital requirement for interested crypto service providers, and disclosed that it was developing inclusive regulatory guidelines for the digital asset sector.
The most recent was on Monday, when it vowed to delist naira trading from peer-to-peer, in a move it believed would revive the dwindling naira.
The Director General of SEC, Emomotimi Agama, said, “That is one of the things that must be done to save this space. The delisting of the naira from the P2P platforms is to avoid the level of manipulation that is currently happening.” (Punch)
