Binance faces mounting pressure as US crypto crackdown intensifies

For years, giant cryptocurrency exchange Binance has had a reputation for dodging regulators and skirting financial rules, all without significant consequences.

Now, the world’s largest crypto exchange is facing mounting legal pressure.

Changpeng Zhao, Binance’s founder and CEO, has hired white-collar defense lawyers at law firm Latham & Watkins to represent him personally, as he and his company face a tightening legal net. Justice Department prosecutors are investigating the exchange for money-laundering violations, as the Securities and Exchange Commission is looking into the company’s business practices. Last month, another agency, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, sued Zhao, accusing him of compliance failures that allowed criminals to launder money on Binance.