‘This Is Gonna Go On for Some Time,’ US Regulators Investigating Binance – Report

The investigation into global cryptocurrency exchange Binance by US authorities could take years before it reaches its conclusion.

On Friday, news outlet Bloomberg sent shockwaves through the cryptoverse after reporting that Binance is being investigated by officials who probe money laundering and tax offenses.

The officials involved include prosecutors from the Justice Department’s bank integrity unit and investigators from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Seattle. In addition, a source close to the matter discloses that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is also reviewing the conduct of Binance’s employees as well as its customers.

In response to the Bloomberg report, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao tells his 2.2 million followers that the Bloomberg report is actually just a description of how the global crypto exchange is cooperating with authorities to weed out illicit activity.

“The ‘news’ title is bad. The article itself isn’t so bad actually (but who reads). It described how Binance collaborated with law enforcement agencies to fight bad players but somehow made it look like a bad thing… Anyways. Back to work.”

Meanwhile, Bloomberg reporter Jesse Westbrook says the probe is complex and has been going on for many months.

“When you talk about a criminal investigation, it’s much harder to prosecute than say a civil investigation that an agency like the Securities and Exchange Commission would pursue…

So you know these investigations take months, more likely even years. So this is not something where you launch investigations and we see indictments flying immediately and perp walks and that sort of thing. This is going to go on for some time.”

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Featured Image: Shutterstock/Tithi Luadthong