Binance CEO denies allegations that the exchange's US arm is a regulatory decoy

Changpeng Zhao, CEO of Binance, is pushing back hard against allegations that the crypto exchange set up its U.S. arm to circumvent regulations and profit from investors.

The document states that in 2018 - prior to the launch of Binance.

In a response made roughly an hour after the article's publication, Changpeng Zhao, or CZ, disputed many of the claims, stating that the source - the leaked document - was "Not produced by a Binance employee." Castillo believed that former employee Harry Zhou created the presentation.

CZ claimed that the fact the firm has opened exchanges in several countries is evidence it is willing to comply with regulatory framework "With proper licensing and applications" and stated Binance "Has very strong collaboration with many notable law enforcement agencies worldwide." He said Binance's operations in the U.S. have "Very strong restrictions and operating procedures in place."

Castillo stated the document suggested the business entity participate in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Cornerstone Program for detecting weaknesses in the financial systems to "Distract" agencies including the U.S. Treasury Department's Financial Crime Enforcement Network, or FinCEN, and Office of Foreign Assets Control, or OFAC, the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, or CFTC, and the New York Department of Financial Services, or NYDFS. According to Forbes, Binance's United States arm did so.

CEO Catherine Coley has claimed there are no ownership ties to Binance - CZ himself called Binance.

US "a standalone marketplace" - but Castillo reported the leaked document stated BAM would continue to "License trading and wallet technology" from the crypto exchange.

Citizens living in ten U.S. states can not legally use Binance.

US at the time of publication, yet Binance Academy has a beginner's guide to VPNs on its website.

Responding to the claims on Twitter, CZ stated "Anyone can produce a 'strategy document', but it does not mean Binance follows them."