Binance CEO Richard Teng has spoken up against a growing community concern that Binance is sanctioning Palestinian accounts at the behest of Israel. According to a letter circulating on X social media, there were claims that Binance complied with requests to freeze the accounts of “all Palestinians.”
Binance CEO shed true light
Shedding light on what truly happened, Richard Teng said the circulating news was mere FUD. He claimed that only a limited number of users were impacted, and that these accounts were linked to illicit transactions.
FUD. Only a limited number of user accounts, linked to illicit funds, were blocked from transacting. There have been some incorrect statements about this.
As a global crypto exchange, we comply with internationally accepted anti-money laundering legislation, just like any other…
— Richard Teng (@_RichardTeng) August 28, 2024
“As a global crypto exchange, we comply with internationally accepted anti-money laundering legislation, just like any other financial institution. In his short statement, we will continue to educate users on how to safely and securely transact on our platform,” the Binance CEO said.
Though Binance exchange is the biggest trading platform in the industry, as shown by key performance metrics, it is also known to face significant backlash. This FUD came when the exchange tried to resolve many of its operational hurdles in key jurisdictions.
If Binance is allowed to resonate throughout industry, it might face more intensive fallout from community members. As Teng noted, the trading platform is suing for peace in the region.
Growing disdain for censorship
Beyond Binance exchange coming into the spotlight, the broader crypto community has been speaking against censorship in any form in the industry. This censorship move is behind the recent arrest of Telegram Founder Pavel Durov in France, which has sparked outrage.
This is why Binance exchange cannot afford to be caught in a censorship brawl. Already, the market is in bearish mode, riding on a Bitcoin-sparked drawdown. Notably, the price of Binance Coin (BNB) has dropped by 3% to $538.47.
Should community opinion skew negatively against Binance in the current censorship claims, the price of BNB may crumble more in the midterm.
