Binance Faces Legal Scrutiny in the Philippines and the US

The Philippines’ Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has warned sternly against Binance, the globally renowned cryptocurrency exchange. Recent investigations reveal that Binance, despite its international presence, operates without the necessary authorizations in the Philippines. As reported by the Chinese reporter Colin Wu, the SEC’s advisory emphasized that Binance is not registered as a corporation in the country and lacks the essential license to sell or offer securities.

The Philippine SEC stated that Binance has been actively conducting promotional activities on social media in the country; Binance has no right to sell or provide securities to the public; acting as broker or promoter may be held criminally responsible. https://t.co/8QhMdfOvmF
— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) November 29, 2023

This development comes after the SEC highlighted Binance’s aggressive marketing strategies on various social media platforms in the Philippines. The SEC’s findings indicate that Binance has enticed Filipino investors to participate in various investment and trading activities using its platform. This includes offering financial instruments and investment products like spot trading with leverage, futures contracts, option contracts, cryptocurrency savings accounts, and staking services.

The Philippine SEC’s advisory cautions the public against investing in these unregistered online investment platforms. It stated that those acting as brokers, promoters, or influencers for Binance in the Philippines, even through online channels, may face criminal liability. The warning includes potential penalties like a fine of up to five million Pesos or imprisonment of up to twenty-one years.

In a related development in the United States, soccer superstar Cristiano Ronaldo is embroiled in a legal battle over his promotion of Binance. A recent class-action lawsuit filed in a Florida district court alleged that Ronaldo assisted in selling unregistered securities in collaboration with Binance. This follows his partnership with Binance in mid-2022 to promote a series of his non-fungible tokens (NFTs) linked to the exchange.

The lawsuit claimed that Ronaldo’s promotion led to a significant increase in Binance’s popularity, with a notable surge in searches for Binance following the initial NFT sale. It argued that users who signed up for Ronaldo’s NFTs were more likely to use Binance for other investments, potentially in unregistered securities.