Binance, CEO Zhao flag motion to dismiss CFTC lawsuit

Binance intends to file a motion to dismiss a CFTC lawsuit, which alleges it knowingly allowed US-based traders access to crypto derivatives

article-image

Web Summit (CC BY 2.0), modified by Blockworks

share

Binance, along with founder Changpeng Zhao and associated companies, plan to file a motion to dismiss a March lawsuit filed by the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

According to documents filed Monday, their motion for dismissal — due by Thursday — will come in excess of a 15-page limit allowed by default, so they’ve requested permission to lodge a longer document.

The CFTC alleges that Binance has conducted commodity derivatives transactions on behalf of individuals in the US since July 2019.

Binance and top executives, including former chief compliance officer Samuel Lin, deliberately ignored regulations to hide its operations, the regulator has claimed.

The foreign Binance entities along with CEO Zhao intend to jointly submit their dismissal motion, while Lim intends to file a separate motion, per the document. Lim also intends to join portions of the motion put forth by the foreign Binance entities and Zhao.

“Defendants’ alleged willful evasion of US law is at the core of the Commission’s complaint against Binance,” said Gretchen Lowe, CFTC’s enforcement division chief counsel in March. “The defendants’ own emails and chats reflect that Binance’s compliance efforts have been a sham and Binance deliberately chose — over and over — to place profits over following the law.”

Zhao initially responded to the allegations in a blog post, claiming that the lawsuit contains an “incomplete recitation of facts” and refuted the “characterization of many of the issues alleged in the complaint.”

Binance.US volume dwindles amid CFTC, SEC lawsuits

The holding company behind Binance is registered to the Cayman Islands but the exchange reportedly claims to have no official headquarters. 

Binance still maintains a US-centric operation, Binance.US, however that platform doesn’t offer derivatives such as perpetual futures contracts, or margin trading. Binance.US has struggled to maintain banking partners following recent cases filed by US agencies.

Binance’s US exchange processes a fraction of the trade volume reported by the global platform — just $11.5 million over the past day compared to $7.1 billion, according to CoinGecko. Binance.US saw upwards of $100 million per day at the start of the year.

The CFTC’s lawsuit referred to offhand internal dialogues which discussed ways US-based users could skirt Binance’s standard customer identification processes (KYC), allowing them access to the flagship exchange.

The SEC’s separate lawsuit alleges multiple securities law breaches including unregistered sales, customer fund commingling, operating as an unregistered exchange and wash trading.

David Canellis contributed reporting.


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

Tags

Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily, with Byron Gilliam.

Upcoming Events

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

recent research

Research Report Templates.jpg

Research

Figure, founded by former SoFi CEO Mike Cagney, has emerged as a leader in onchain RWAs, with ~$17.5B publicly tokenized. The platform’s ecosystem volume is growing ~40% YoY as it expands beyond HELOCs into student loans, DSCR loans, unsecured loans, bankruptcy claims, and more. Operationally, Figure cuts average loan production cost by ~93% and compresses median funding time from ~42 days to ~10, creating a durable speed-and-cost advantage.

article-image

Former White House crypto official Bo Hines is expected to be the CEO of the new project

article-image

In bonds, stablecoins and billionaires, a reminder of what makes crypto special

article-image

21Shares exec says CPI and PPI data supports a Fed rate cut, with market leaning toward a 25bps decrease

article-image

The Ethereum co-founder suggested LINEA holders would be eligible for other airdrops in cryptic tweet

article-image

The layer-2’s biggest release yet brings benefits — but a post-upgrade outage caused a chain reorg

article-image

Crypto is shifting into risk-on mode — pump.fun dominates meme activity, while Lido leans on treasury maneuvers