States reaction to Binance.US continues by pulling 6th license.
Oregon has become the sixth state to refuse to revoke, suspend or renew the license of Binance.US following repeated refusals earlier this year.
The Oregon Division of Financial Regulation announced on April 30 that Binance.US' license was revoked, prohibiting it from accepting funds for transfer or holding or selling fiat or crypto to Oregon consumers. The unit explained in a statement.
“Because of the nature of the crimes committed [former Binance CEO Changpeng] Zhao, Department revoked Binance.US remittance license.”
After Zhao pleaded guilty to violating anti-money laundering laws, Oregon followed the example of five states in which the exchange was challenged. Florida was the first state to act, suspending Binance.US's license in November, shortly after Zhao's guilty plea. Alaska followed suit by refusing to renew his license in early January.
Related: Former NY Fed Chief Joins Binance.US Board
North Carolina suspended Binance.US's license on January 23, and Maine refused to renew its license on January 29. Connecticut suspended Binance.US's license on April 24, according to local press reports.
Binance.US has not received licenses in New York, Texas, Vermont and Hawaii.
According to a page on the Binance.US website, the services are also not available in Georgia and Ohio, although another page indicates that the exchange is licensed there. Binance will open a regional center in Georgia with 25 employees by March 2023. The license in Minnesota does not cover the exchange or transmission of virtual currency.
That's not the full extent of Binance.US' problems. Binance.US CEO Christopher Blodgett said in a court filing in December that the exchange took a “near-death blow,” forcing him to lay off more than 200 employees after American banks refused to work with him.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sued Binance in June. In that lawsuit, the SEC said Binance.US failed to register as an exchange, brokerage and clearing agency. It also alleged that Binance.US had no control over “manipulative trading”, engaged in wash trading and merged funds with Binance, which put Binance.US under regulatory pressure in 2019.
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