CZ says Binance.US did not use entity at center of recent SEC allegations

Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao pushed back against allegations by the Securities and Exchange commission that Binance.US used a custody unit possibly linked to its parent that could be exposing clients to a foreign entity.

“For the record. Binance US does not use, and have NEVER used Ceffu or Binance Custody. You can’t just make this stuff up,” Zhao posted Tuesday on X, the social network formerly known as Twitter.

Ceffu has been a point of contention between the SEC and Binance, with the regulator asking BAM, the company behind Binance.US, for more information on how customer assets are handled at Binance.US. It says that BAM has not obliged, while the company has called many of the requests for more information too broad or burdensome.

The SEC specifically wants more information about Ceffu, which the agency says is a “newly rebranded Binance Entity” that appears to control customer assets. The agency also has noted that BAM is not allowed to use a “foreign Binance affiliated third-party for wallet custody services,” as per the consent order.

BAM has made “inconsistent statements about Ceffu’s and Binance’s involvement,” a lawyer for the SEC said.

Judge responds to SEC, Binance.US

During a hearing on Monday, a D.C. district judge asked the SEC and BAM to work together and “turn down the temperature.”

The SEC sued the exchange and Zhao for violating multiple federal securities laws in June, arguing they misrepresented the oversight of the Binance.US platform.

The SEC and BAM agreed to an Oct. 12 hearing and to the filing of a joint status report by Oct. 10.

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