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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
The SEC unveils 13 charges in a lawsuit1 against crypto exchange Binance
The Securities and Exchange Commission has filed more than a dozen charges against Binance which runs the largest crypto trading site in the world.
MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
In the world of crypto, another major company is in trouble.
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
Binance - like finance but with a B - Binance operates the world's largest platform for trading cryptocurrencies, and now it's facing a massive lawsuit from the Securities and Exchange Commission.
MARTIN: NPR's David Gura is with us now to tell us more. David, good morning.
DAVID GURA, BYLINE3: Hey, Michel.
MARTIN: What is Binance accused of?
GURA: So this company faces more than a dozen charges, some of which are quite serious, Michel, in a complaint that is more than a hundred pages long. And when you dig into it, Binance is accused of misleading customers, of steering4 their money to another company that's controlled by Binance's CEO and of putting investors5' assets at risk, according to the SEC, which describes Binance as an opaque6 web of corporate7 entities8 that does business around the world. And, interestingly, it has no physical headquarters anywhere, which may sound unusual, but this is how many crypto companies operate. They believe there's no need for a headquarters. There are no borders. There's no need for government oversight9. Binance's chief executive, who goes by his initials, CZ, says Binance's headquarters is wherever he's sitting. Regulators have gotten fed up with this. And what the SEC alleges10, broadly, Michel, is CZ and Binance have violated and continue to violate the law.
MARTIN: Now, you said that there - that the complaint is a hundred pages long, but of those charges, are there some that stand out?
GURA: Yeah. Several of these have to do with Binance not complying with regulations. The SEC says the company has made a deliberate decision not to register with the SEC. And, you know, this gets to the heart of the battle. The head of the SEC, Gary Gensler, often says that crypto is like the Wild West. And if you play out that metaphor11, Gensler sees himself as the sheriff. You know, like I said, crypto companies envision a future with a financial system that's not government regulated. But Gensler wants to impose order and have crypto companies operate under existing securities laws. Lee Reiners teaches cryptocurrency law at Duke University.
LEE REINERS: He had been, in essence, warning the crypto industry for the better part of a year and giving them an opportunity to come in and get, you know, in compliance12 and to register with the SEC. And, you know, that is not something the crypto industry took him up on.
GURA: Now, recently, Gensler has been saying the runway for crypto companies to come into compliance is running out. And something Reiners told me is this lawsuit is a pretty sure sign there's no runway left. And we're seeing Binance customers getting skittish13, Michel. They've withdrawn14 hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of crypto from Binance since these charges were announced, according to the blockchain data firm Nansen.
MARTIN: Could you say more about the company, how it fits into the world of crypto?
GURA: Yeah. Binance may not be a household name, but if you're in crypto, you'll know it. This is a company that's a little like a crypto supermarket. It has a little bit of everything. It runs two large exchanges where you can buy and sell cryptocurrency. But Binance is also a brokerage. It clears trades. There are funds that are affiliated15 with it. Binance is big, and it's only gotten bigger since FTX imploded16 just a few months ago.
MARTIN: And does the collapse17 of FTX relate to what we're seeing here?
GURA: Yeah. Absolutely, yeah. These two companies were rivals. CZ famously balked18 when FTX asked him for a bailout when FTX was on the brink19 of bankruptcy20. But beyond that, FTX's collapse changed regulators' approach to crypto, Michel. It was catalytic. Since then, the SEC has gone after a lot of crypto companies. The SEC recently sent a warning to Coinbase saying it's under investigation21. So this Binance lawsuit is not going to be the last. There are going to be more fights ahead, including civil suits like this one. And, of course, there's the criminal trial against FTX's founder22, Sam Bankman-Fried. That's scheduled to start in October. And if he's found guilty, he could spend the rest of his life in prison.
MARTIN: That is NPR's David Gura. David, thank you.
GURA: Thank you.
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1 lawsuit | |
n.诉讼,控诉 | |
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2 transcript | |
n.抄本,誊本,副本,肄业证书 | |
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3 byline | |
n.署名;v.署名 | |
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4 steering | |
n.操舵装置 | |
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5 investors | |
n.投资者,出资者( investor的名词复数 ) | |
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6 opaque | |
adj.不透光的;不反光的,不传导的;晦涩的 | |
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7 corporate | |
adj.共同的,全体的;公司的,企业的 | |
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8 entities | |
实体对像; 实体,独立存在体,实际存在物( entity的名词复数 ) | |
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9 oversight | |
n.勘漏,失察,疏忽 | |
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10 alleges | |
断言,宣称,辩解( allege的第三人称单数 ) | |
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11 metaphor | |
n.隐喻,暗喻 | |
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12 compliance | |
n.顺从;服从;附和;屈从 | |
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13 skittish | |
adj.易激动的,轻佻的 | |
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14 withdrawn | |
vt.收回;使退出;vi.撤退,退出 | |
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15 affiliated | |
adj. 附属的, 有关连的 | |
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16 imploded | |
v.(使)向心聚爆( implode的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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17 collapse | |
vi.累倒;昏倒;倒塌;塌陷 | |
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18 balked | |
v.畏缩不前,犹豫( balk的过去式和过去分词 );(指马)不肯跑 | |
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19 brink | |
n.(悬崖、河流等的)边缘,边沿 | |
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20 bankruptcy | |
n.破产;无偿付能力 | |
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21 investigation | |
n.调查,调查研究 | |
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22 Founder | |
n.创始者,缔造者 | |
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