Following the SEC's lawsuit against Binance, new information about the ties between Gensler and Binance started surfacing.
Gary Gensler, the chairperson of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), reportedly offered to be an advisor to crypto exchange Binance in 2019.
This controversial claim surfaced in a CNBC report dated June 7th, according to which the SEC's documents filed on the same day encapsulate this accusation.
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Lawyers from prestigious firms like Gibson & Dunn and Latham & Watkins affirmed that Gensler offered his advisory services to Binance in March 2019.
This narrative, however, is in stark contrast to the March report from The Wall Street Journal. The WSJ's rendition suggests Binance was the one to first ask Gensler for his advisory services in 2018, not the other way around.
Expanding on this, the WSJ cited various messages and documents from 2018 to 2020. These provide evidence that Ella Zhang, the head of Binance's venture investing arm at that time, and Harry Zhou, the co-founder of Binance-invested firm Koi Trading, initially reached out to Gensler in October 2018. They offered him an advisory role which Gensler subsequently turned down.
It's also worth mentioning that numerous private companies pursued Gensler for advisory roles during his tenure at MIT, only to be declined each time.
This story gains prominence in light of the recent lawsuit filed by the SEC against Binance on June 5th. The lawsuit alleges Binance's failure to register as a securities exchange and its illegal operations within US territory. The charges, totaling 13, include accusations related to unregistered offers of Binance's BNB and Binance USD (BUSD) tokens, as well as its staking program.
Amid this legal turmoil, on June 7th, Changpeng Zhao ignited a debate on Twitter. He questioned why the SEC never sued FTX, despite Gensler's previous statements highlighting numerous "parallels" between Binance and FTX.
The journey to Gensler's SEC chair position is marked by US President Joe Biden's nomination in February 2021, followed by his inauguration on April 17th, 2021.
Before this, Gensler worked as a Global Economics and Management professor at MIT Sloan School of Management. His dedication to finance is also evident in his service as the Maryland Financial Consumer Protection Commission chair from 2017 to 2019.
As this intriguing drama unfolds, it further exemplifies the intricate dance between cryptocurrency platforms and regulatory agencies, both parties navigating the complex landscape of evolving digital financial ecosystems.
