According to The Information, Zhao has been trying to reduce his ownership stake in Binance.US since last summer, at which time the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) had not yet filed a lawsuit against Zhao and the exchange.
Efforts to get rid of Binance.US stock by the exchange’s founder intensified after the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) accused the site of violating U.S. derivatives trading laws.
The publication reported, citing a source familiar with the situation, that Binance’s U.S. management expects that reducing Zhao’s stake in the firm will help improve the company’s reputation with U.S. regulators.
Recall that Changpeng Zhao himself is a Canadian citizen, but U.S. regulators believe he has strong ties to the Chinese government. It is also unknown where the founder of Binance resides.
Patrick Hillmann, Binance’s chief strategy officer, recently said that the crackdown on cryptocurrencies in the U.S. has made it “very difficult to do business,” and the U.K. is also causing concern.