Cryptocurrencies have slipped in Wednesday trading after a media report said the U.S. Department of Justice is considering fraud charges against Binance, but is considering other options that may mitigate the cost to consumers. Federal prosecutors are concerned that indicting Binance could trigger a run on the exchange like the one FTX experienced when the DOJ filed criminal charges against its CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried, Semafor reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Such a run could lead to customers losing money, which in turn, could trigger panic in the crypto market. Other options, which could reduce that risk, include fines and deferred or non-prosecution agreements, the article said. In June, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission sued crypto exchange Binance and its CEO, Changpeng Zhao, for allegedly mishandling customer funds and secretly sending them to a separate entity controlled by Zhao. It's unusual that the DOJ would charge a company after the SEC. When both agencies are investigating wrongdoing at a company, they generally bring charges at the same time. In midafternoon trading, bitcoin ( BTC-USD ) fell 0.5% to $29.1K, ethereum ( ETH-USD ) slid 1.1% , XRP ( XRP-USD ) -2.4% , cardano ( ADA-USD ) -1.7% , solana ( SOL-USD ) -2.1% , and litecoin ( LTC-USD ) -5.8% . Crypto-exposed stocks are following the path down — Coinbase ( COIN ) -3.2% , MicroStrategy ( MSTR ) -6.5% , Riot Platforms ( RIOT ) -1.3% , Marathon Digital ( MARA ) -1.2% , Hut 8 Mining ( HUT ) -3.4% , and Bit Digital ( BTBT ) -3.5% . Note that MicroStrategy ( MSTR ) reported Q2 earnings after Tuesday's close. More on Cryptocurrency Clampdown: Federal judge said to reject Ripple ruling on cryptocurrency Ripple Ruling: Coinbase Might Be the Biggest Winner Binance ordered by markets regulator to cease crypto services in Belgium Binance offices in Australia searched by financial markets regulator Crypto exchange Binance hires ex-DOJ prosecutor in wake of SEC suit
