Binance Faces Class Action Lawsuits Over Crypto Theft
A federal appeals court has ruled that cryptocurrency theft victims can sue Binance in US courts. The Eleventh Circuit granted a writ of mandamus, forcing a lower Florida district court to correct its arbitration order.
The court rejected Binance's attempt to push claims into arbitration under terms the exchange's customers never signed. Eight theft victims filed proposed class actions against Binance Holdings, BAM Trading Services (which operates Binance.US), and founder Changpeng Zhao.
Critics of Binance argue that the exchange ran an unlicensed money transfer business and disregarded the Bank Secrecy Act, which requires financial firms to detect and report suspicious transactions. The victims allege that criminals drained their wallets, then laundered the proceeds through Binance.