美国国家公共电台 NPR--The SEC unveils 13 charges in a lawsuit against crypto exchange Binance

The SEC unveils 13 charges in a lawsuit¹ against crypto exchange Binance

Transcript²

The Securities and Exchange Commission has filed more than a dozen charges against Binance which runs the largest crypto trading site in the world.

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

In the world of crypto, another major company is in trouble.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Binance - like finance but with a B - Binance operates the world's largest platform for trading cryptocurrencies, and now it's facing a massive lawsuit from the Securities and Exchange Commission.

MARTIN: NPR's David Gura is with us now to tell us more. David, good morning.

DAVID GURA, BYLINE³: Hey, Michel.

MARTIN: What is Binance accused of?

GURA: So this company faces more than a dozen charges, some of which are quite serious, Michel, in a complaint that is more than a hundred pages long. And when you dig into it, Binance is accused of misleading customers, of steering⁴ their money to another company that's controlled by Binance's CEO and of putting investors⁵' assets at risk, according to the SEC, which describes Binance as an opaque⁶ web of corporate⁷ entities⁸ that does business around the world. And, interestingly, it has no physical headquarters anywhere, which may sound unusual, but this is how many crypto companies operate. They believe there's no need for a headquarters. There are no borders. There's no need for government oversight⁹. Binance's chief executive, who goes by his initials, CZ, says Binance's headquarters is wherever he's sitting. Regulators have gotten fed up with this. And what the SEC alleges¹⁰, broadly, Michel, is CZ and Binance have violated and continue to violate the law.

MARTIN: Now, you said that there - that the complaint is a hundred pages long, but of those charges, are there some that stand out?

GURA: Yeah. Several of these have to do with Binance not complying with regulations. The SEC says the company has made a deliberate decision not to register with the SEC. And, you know, this gets to the heart of the battle. The head of the SEC, Gary Gensler, often says that crypto is like the Wild West. And if you play out that metaphor¹¹, Gensler sees himself as the sheriff. You know, like I said, crypto companies envision a future with a financial system that's not government regulated. But Gensler wants to impose order and have crypto companies operate under existing securities laws. Lee Reiners teaches cryptocurrency law at Duke University.

LEE REINERS: He had been, in essence, warning the crypto industry for the better part of a year and giving them an opportunity to come in and get, you know, in compliance¹² and to register with the SEC. And, you know, that is not something the crypto industry took him up on.

GURA: Now, recently, Gensler has been saying the runway for crypto companies to come into compliance is running out. And something Reiners told me is this lawsuit is a pretty sure sign there's no runway left. And we're seeing Binance customers getting skittish¹³, Michel. They've withdrawn¹⁴ hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of crypto from Binance since these charges were announced, according to the blockchain data firm Nansen.

MARTIN: Could you say more about the company, how it fits into the world of crypto?

GURA: Yeah. Binance may not be a household name, but if you're in crypto, you'll know it. This is a company that's a little like a crypto supermarket. It has a little bit of everything. It runs two large exchanges where you can buy and sell cryptocurrency. But Binance is also a brokerage. It clears trades. There are funds that are affiliated¹⁵ with it. Binance is big, and it's only gotten bigger since FTX imploded¹⁶ just a few months ago.

MARTIN: And does the collapse¹⁷ of FTX relate to what we're seeing here?

GURA: Yeah. Absolutely, yeah. These two companies were rivals. CZ famously balked¹⁸ when FTX asked him for a bailout when FTX was on the brink¹⁹ of bankruptcy²⁰. But beyond that, FTX's collapse changed regulators' approach to crypto, Michel. It was catalytic. Since then, the SEC has gone after a lot of crypto companies. The SEC recently sent a warning to Coinbase saying it's under investigation²¹. So this Binance lawsuit is not going to be the last. There are going to be more fights ahead, including civil suits like this one. And, of course, there's the criminal trial against FTX's founder²², Sam Bankman-Fried. That's scheduled to start in October. And if he's found guilty, he could spend the rest of his life in prison.

MARTIN: That is NPR's David Gura. David, thank you.

GURA: Thank you.

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1 lawsuit   

n.诉讼，控诉

参考例句：

• They threatened him with a lawsuit.他们以诉讼威逼他。
• He was perpetually involving himself in this long lawsuit.他使自己无休止地卷入这场长时间的诉讼。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 steering   

n.操舵装置

参考例句：

• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration. 他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。
• Steering according to the wind, he also framed his words more amicably. 他真会看风使舵，口吻也马上变得温和了。

5 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

6 opaque   

adj.不透光的；不反光的，不传导的；晦涩的

参考例句：

• The windows are of opaque glass.这些窗户装着不透明玻璃。
• Their intentions remained opaque.他们的意图仍然令人费解。

7 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

8 entities   

实体对像； 实体，独立存在体，实际存在物( entity的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Our newspaper and our printing business form separate corporate entities. 我们的报纸和印刷业形成相对独立的企业实体。
• The North American continent is made up of three great structural entities. 北美大陆是由三个构造单元组成的。

9 oversight   

n.勘漏，失察，疏忽

参考例句：

• I consider this a gross oversight on your part.我把这件事看作是你的一大疏忽。
• Your essay was not marked through an oversight on my part.由于我的疏忽你的文章没有打分。

10 alleges   

断言，宣称，辩解( allege的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The newspaper article alleges that the mayor is corrupt. 报纸上断言该市长腐败。
• Steven was tardy this morning and alleges that his bus was late. 史提芬今天早上迟到的说词是公车误点了。

11 metaphor   

n.隐喻，暗喻

参考例句：

• Using metaphor,we say that computers have senses and a memory.打个比方，我们可以说计算机有感觉和记忆力。
• In poetry the rose is often a metaphor for love.玫瑰在诗中通常作为爱的象征。

12 compliance   

n.顺从；服从；附和；屈从

参考例句：

• I was surprised by his compliance with these terms.我对他竟然依从了这些条件而感到吃惊。
• She gave up the idea in compliance with his desire.她顺从他的愿望而放弃自己的主意。

13 skittish   

adj.易激动的，轻佻的

参考例句：

• She gets very skittish when her boy-friend is around.她男朋友在场时，她就显得格外轻佻。
• I won't have my son associating with skittish girls.我不准我的儿子与轻佻的女孩交往。

14 withdrawn   

vt.收回；使退出；vi.撤退，退出

参考例句：

• Our force has been withdrawn from the danger area.我们的军队已从危险地区撤出。
• All foreign troops should be withdrawn to their own countries.一切外国军队都应撤回本国去。

15 affiliated   

adj. 附属的, 有关连的

参考例句：

• The hospital is affiliated with the local university. 这家医院附属于当地大学。
• All affiliated members can vote. 所有隶属成员都有投票权。

16 imploded   

v.（使）向心聚爆( implode的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The economies of Brazil and Russia imploded in 1998. 巴西与俄罗斯的经济在1998年宣告破裂。 来自互联网
• A startling number of his nominees for senior positions have imploded. 他所提名的高级官员被否决的数目令人震惊。 来自互联网

17 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

18 balked   

v.畏缩不前，犹豫( balk的过去式和过去分词 )；（指马）不肯跑

参考例句：

• He balked in his speech. 他忽然中断讲演。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• They balked the robber's plan. 他们使强盗的计划受到挫败。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

19 brink   

n.(悬崖、河流等的)边缘，边沿

参考例句：

• The tree grew on the brink of the cliff.那棵树生长在峭壁的边缘。
• The two countries were poised on the brink of war.这两个国家处于交战的边缘。

20 bankruptcy   

n.破产；无偿付能力

参考例句：

• You will have to pull in if you want to escape bankruptcy.如果你想避免破产，就必须节省开支。
• His firm is just on thin ice of bankruptcy.他的商号正面临破产的危险。

21 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

22 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。