Binance, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, has clarified its stance on allegations related to account blockages imposed by Israeli authorities.
Reports indicated that Binance failed to comply with 86% of the requests made by Israeli authorities to block certain accounts.
According to Binance’s internal investigations, these accounts were not involved in illicit activities, which led the exchange to reject most of these requests. This clarification comes in response to allegations that Binance had blocked all accounts linked to Palestinian users and seized their funds.
Binance CEO Richard Teng Reacts to the News
In response to these allegations, Binance CEO Richard Teng said that a very small percentage of accounts were impacted. Teng described the charges as “FUD” (Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt) in his post, emphasising that the only accounts that were stopped had anything to do with illegal money.
He went on to say that the exchange, like other financial organisations, complies with internationally recognised anti-money laundering rules.
“As a global crypto exchange, we comply with internationally accepted anti-money laundering legislation, just like any other financial institution. We will continue to educate users on how to safely and securely transact on our platform. Most importantly, we hope for a lasting peace throughout the region,” Teng stated in his response.
He also highlighted Binance’s commitment to ensuring that users transact securely on their platform while adhering to international regulations.
Binance’s Market Share Declines Amidst Increased Competition
While responding to these allegations, Binance has encountered additional difficulties in the cryptocurrency space. A recent CCData analysis claims that Binance’s market share has drastically decreased, reaching its lowest point in four years.
Its lowest result since September 2020 occurred when the exchange accounted for 36.6% of the total spot and futures trading activity on centralised cryptocurrency exchanges.
Binance’s spot market share dropped to 27% in September, the lowest level since January 2021, as a result of a steep decline in spot trading volume of over 23%.
The derivatives trading volume also suffered a decrease of 21%, reducing its market share in this area to 40.7%, the smallest percentage since 2020. Other exchanges have been gaining a bigger market share as competitors have been steadily eroding Binance’s advantage.