WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Representative Ritchie Torres (NY-15), a member of the House Financial Services Committee, this afternoon issued the following statement about new legal action taken by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, and its C.E.O. and founder, Changpeng Zhao, who are accused of mishandling customer funds and lying to U.S. regulators:

“During a House Financial Services oversight hearing nearly two months ago, I pressed Gary Gensler, Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), to prioritize enforcement against deregulated offshore crypto companies like Binance and Tether.”

After years of standing idly by on the sidelines, the SEC has finally taken long overdue action against Binance Holdings and its founder, Changpeng Zhao, charging both with 13 counts of violating U.S. securities laws.

I commend Chairman Gensler for holding Binance accountable – better late than never – and I am hopeful the SEC moving forward will prioritize enforcement against the worst actors in the crypto ecosystem: dangerously deregulated, offshore, and overleveraged companies, which carry the greatest risk of losing customer funds.”

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