The US District Court in Washington, DC, issued a subpoena to Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao on June 7, just two days after the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) formally sued the exchange for allegedly unregistered securities operations.
"A lawsuit has been filed against you," the subpoena read. While details are scant at this time, the subpoena seen by Cointelegraph does not appear to have been marked as served, and the SEC or Binance did not immediately respond to requests for information . Zhao does not have to appear in person; however, he is required by law to respond to a subpoena once he is served.
Once the service starts, Binance and its CEO will have 21 days to respond, according to the document. "If you do not respond, a default judgment will be entered against you to obtain the relief requested in the complaint." The SEC's lawsuit against Binance, which was made public on June 5, brought 13 charges against the cryptocurrency exchange, most of which relate to the unregistered sale of its in-house products and services, its cryptocurrency staking program, and the company's alleged Alleges failing to properly register its main weapon and American weapons in exchange.
Binance disputes the SEC's allegations. In a statement responding to the SEC's action, the company said, “We are different from _,” suggesting its business model cannot be compared to previous exchange failures — such as the FTX debacle.
Binance denied that its exchange had ever “stealed consumer funds” or “collateralized borrowing.” The company also claims that it has never made “significant donations” to political candidates or provided “significant sponsorships” to entertainment and media entities.
