Binance commingled customer funds with its revenue in 2020, 2021 - report

Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, reportedly commingled billions of dollars of customer funds with company revenue in 2020 and 2021. Commingling was done almost every day in Binance's accounts at failed Silvergate Bank ( OTC:SICP ), Reuters reported citing three sources. While the amounts couldn't be verified, Reuters reviewed a bank record that showed Binance mixed $20M from a corporate account with $15M from an account that received customer funds in 2021. The claims indicate internal controls failed to ensure that customer funds were separate from company revenue, thereby putting client assets at risk, the report cited three former U.S. regulators as saying. Patrick Hillmann, Binance's chief strategy officer, slammed the report, saying the company has been public about its regulatory shortcomings in the past. "This story is so weak that they had to put up front, 'Reuters found no evidence that Binance client monies were lost or taken', to protect themselves from a libel suit," he said . "They then pinned 1K words of conspiracy theories (which we explained were false) with zero evidence other than a former insider." Binance did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Commingling has been an issue with regulators, with one of the biggest instances being FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried allegedly commingling customers' funds with his hedge fund arm's operations. He has denied these claims. More on Binance Binance to exit Canada due to stiffer crypto rules Binance resumes bitcoin outflows after second halt Binance, CEO sued by CFTC over regulatory breaches Binance: Could CFTC Lead To Bigger Problems?