LONDON, June 15 (Reuters) - The U.S. subsidiary of cryptocurrency giant Binance has carried out a round of layoffs since regulators last week accused it of violating securities laws and tried to freeze its assets, two people said. with knowledge of layoffs and employees. social media posts.
One of the sources said that around 50 people were laid off. Reuters was unable to independently verify the number or seniority of the affected employees.
A Binance.US spokesperson did not respond to emails and calls seeking comment.
Employees of Binance.US' legal, compliance and risk departments were among those fired, the people told Reuters, requesting anonymity because the matter is private.
On June 5, the SEC charged Binance and its founder and CEO, Changpeng Zhao, with creating Binance.US as part of a "network of deceptionto evade securities laws intended to protect US investors. Binance said that she would "vigorously" defend herself.
The SEC also defendant Binance.US operating company BAM Trading, claiming it misled investors about โnon-existent trading controlsโ over its platform.
A day later, the SEC petitioned a federal court to freeze Binance.US assets, including more than $2.2 billion in cryptocurrency and about $377 million in US dollar bank accounts. The SEC expressed concern that the exchange could move those funds abroad.
Binance.US called the request "unwarranted" and said the SEC's allegations were "unwarranted."
Two Binance.US employees said on LinkedIn on Wednesday that they would be leaving the company, with one citing a "round of layoffs."
Reporting by Angus Berwick and Tom Wilson; edited by Elisa Martinuzzi and Richard Chang
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