Binance, a major cryptocurrency exchange, after being called out on social media, has revealed that it has limited account access to $1 million in cryptocurrency for a Tezos tool contributor.
As a consequence of a request from law enforcement, Binance said on Thursday that it had banned the account of Tezos staking rewards auditor Baking Bad.
The Tezos contributor claimed that Binance had restricted access to its business account, which held Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Polgyon (MATIC), Tether (USDT), and other tokens, since July 1 “without any reason,” an allegation Binance disputed.
“BakingBad is well aware of [Binance’s conduct], since he was previously notified of this and offered the LE contact form through our support chat system on 7/6, 7/12, and 7/22,” Binance stated.
“Unfortunately, attempting to mislead the community about your issue will not change anything.”
The exchange continued:
“Binance is required to cooperate with such requests, the same as any other exchange. There is a process to contest the seizure with the agency should you wish to pursue that path. But that is done through the agency. Binance has zero control over that process. “
Given that the exchange and its subsidiaries operate in several nations throughout the world, it’s unclear exactly to which law enforcement body Binance was referring.
According to Baking Bad’s LinkedIn page, the site is situated in Estonia, where many firms providing crypto-related services were subject to new anti-money laundering regulations beginning in February.
Binance has already deferred to several law enforcement and regulatory organizations that placed restrictions on Russia-based businesses and individuals following the outbreak of the Ukrainian conflict.
Binance will not “unilaterally freeze millions of innocent consumers’ accounts,” a spokeswoman told Cointelegraph in February, with CEO Changpeng Zhao claiming the exchange must comply with penalties in the same manner that traditional financial institutions do.
In April, the exchange limited Russian nationals and residents’ accounts, preventing them from depositing or trading using Binance’s spot, futures, and custody wallets, as well as staked and earned deposits.
