- Binance has refuted allegations bordering on market manipulation.
- The trading firm has launched new loanable assets to sustain its dominance in the market.
Crypto exchange Binance has addressed allegations of wash trading activities, involving a major client, DWF Labs. Reports claim DWF Labs engaged in wash trading worth $300 million over the past year, artificially inflating the prices of certain cryptocurrencies, including Yield Guild Games.
Binance Denies Involvement with DWF Labs
In response to these accusations, Binance posted on its official X account, stating that it does not tolerate market abuse. The firm added that it removed about 355,000 users with a transaction volume of over $2.5 trillion for violating its terms of use in the last three years.
Binance also acknowledges heightened competition among Market Makers but assures its users of its investigation team’s neutral position. According to the firm, its team examines material evidence objectively and without bias. The team does this even when that prejudice stems from allegations made by market-making corporations against its rivals.
In response to WSJ, we affirm our strict market surveillance program. We do not tolerate market abuse.
Over the last three years, we have offboarded nearly 355,000 users with a transaction volume of more than $2.5 trillion for violating our terms of use.
Market maker…
— Binance (@binance) May 9, 2024
Yi He, a senior executive at Binance added credibility to Binance’s response.
As translated by Google, Yi He said Binance is strict with monitoring the Market Making ecosystem and added that the firm does not target any fund. She also assured users that Binance would not participate in the fierce competition among Market Makers. Rather, she said the firm would report any ill activities to regulatory authorities.
Also, DWF Labs co-founder Andrei Grachev maintains his firm’s innocence, calling the accusations a sign they’re “on the right way”. He dismissed the accusations as baseless and insinuated that they were merely the tactics of desperate competitors.
Despite Binance’s outspoken reaction to the accusations, Richard Teng, the company’s new CEO, has not addressed the situation on his X account. However, reports have surfaced suggesting internal issues within Binance regarding the handling of the allegations.
A Coindesk report reveals a former Binance staff, tasked with identifying signs of market manipulation, was fired after uncovering evidence implicating DWF Labs in prohibited trading activities.
The revelations have raised concerns about Binance’s commitment to maintaining a fair and transparent trading environment, especially in light of its efforts to appease regulators following the sentencing of its former CEO, Changpeng Zhao, as previously reported by Crypto News Flash. In response to inquiries from the Wall Street Journal, Binance attributed the dismissal of the staff to the lack of fully substantiated evidence against the client in question.
Binance Announces Expansion Amid Challenges
Despite this wide spread manipulation claims, Binance has continued to introduce new ways to serve its community.
In a positive development for Binance, the firm revealed its plans to expand its list of loanable assets on its Binance Loans platform and introduce several new cryptocurrencies. Holo (HOT), Jito (JTO), Manta Network (MANTA), MANTRA (OM), NFPrompt (NFP), and Portal (PORTAL) are a few of these additions.
As Crypto News Flash earlier indicated, this expansion is important for Binance as it strives to give traders more options and flexibility within its ecosystem.