The Securities and Exchange Commission is examining the relationship between the U.S. arm of Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, and two trading firms with ties to Binance’s founder, people familiar with the probe say.
The two trading firms, Sigma Chain AG and Merit Peak Ltd., act as market makers that trade cryptocurrencies on the Binance.US exchange. One area of focus for regulators is how Binance.US disclosed to customers its links to the trading firms, the people say.
On its website, Binance.US says that affiliated market makers may trade on the exchange, though it doesn’t name which firms might do so.
The SEC requested information about the two entities from Binance.US, which is Binance’s U.S. affiliate and is the subject of an existing enforcement probe, the people said.
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