"Shark Tank" investor and O'Leary Ventures Chairman Kevin O'Leary voiced his skepticism about the future of cryptocurrency exchange Binance (BUSD/USD) at the most recent Benzinga Fintech Deal Day & Awards earlier this week.
O'Leary asserted on Monday, "Binance will be history soon."
The statement came amid Binance's recent announcement to cease local currency deposits in Russia beginning Nov. 15, as detailed on its blog.
Binance didn't immediately respond to a request for comment to Benzinga.
SEC's Allegations and Charges Against Binance
On June 5, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a report against Binance, including charges of operating unregistered exchanges, broker-dealers, and clearing agencies. SEC Chair Gary Gensler accused the platform and its CEO, Changpeng Zhao, of a wide range of deceptive practices. "Through thirteen charges, we allege that Zhao and Binance entities engaged in an extensive web of deception, conflicts of interest, lack of disclosure, and calculated evasion of the law," Gensler stated. The SEC's concerns included allegations of Binance's manipulative trading practices and misrepresentation of trading controls.
A report by Wired earlier in June highlighted Binance's lack of a fixed head office or formal address despite handling daily cryptocurrency transactions worth $12 billion.
The SEC also accused Binance and Zhao of allowing the transfer of customer assets to Sigma Chain, another Zhao-owned business. The regulatory body claims Sigma Chain is engaged in manipulative trading to inflate Binance's trading volume artificially.
In a separate interview with Fox Business, O'Leary mentioned Abu Dhabi's plans to launch a new exchange, M2, aimed at replacing FTX and Binance. He said he anticipates that M2 will be fully compliant and transparent, and backed by significant financial resources.
Read Also: Kevin O'Leary Predicts This New Regulatory-compliant Crypto Exchange Will Surpass Binance And FTX
At the Benzinga Fintech Deal Day & Awards, the "Shark Tank" investor noted the readiness of sovereign wealth funds and institutions to invest in Bitcoin (BTC/USD), emphasizing the need for more regulatory clarity in the market.
Read Next: 'Shark Tank' Star Kevin O'Leary Sounds Alarm About Cracks In Regional Banks Amid Rising Interest Rates
This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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