Binance offices in Australia searched by financial markets regulator - report (update)

Binance Australia's offices were searched by the country's financial markets regulator earlier this week, Bloomberg reported Wednesday, citing people with knowledge of the matter. The searches carried out by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission on Tuesday was said to be part of a probe into its local derivatives business, which was ceased in April. "We are cooperating with local authorities and Binance is focused on meeting local regulatory standards in order to serve our users in Australia in a fully compliant manner," a Binance Australia spokesperson told Seeking Alpha in an emailed statement. (Added at 3:19 p.m. ET) The news comes as Binance faces heightened regulatory scrutiny to the extent that it's weighing on the crypto exchange's business. In just the past month or so, tougher crypto rules prompted the company to stop operating in several countries, and some of its banking partners stopped supporting it. In fact, Binance's share of crypto spot trading dropped for a fourth straight month in June, according to a Wednesday report from CCData, reaching a 10-month low of 42%. Of note, the company's derivatives market share also fell. More on Binance: Binance pulls out of Netherlands after failing to get VASP registration SEC sues Binance and CEO Changpeng Zhao Two senators want DOJ to probe whether crypto giant Binance lied to lawmakers - report