Binance, the largest crypto exchange in the world has recently confirmed the company restricted an account worth $1 million in crypto.
On Thursday, Binance confirmed that they had restricted the account of Tezoz staking rewards auditor “Baking Bad”. The crypto exchange stated that they had done so due to a law enforcement request.
According to Baking Bad, Binance did not provide a justification for the account block. Access to the Tezoz contributors’ corporate account, which held tokens such as Bitcoin, Ether, Polygon, Thether, and numerous more, was restricted.
In a Twitter post, Binance declined Baking Bad’s claims that the crypto exchange did not provide justification for the account block.
“BakingBad is well aware,” Binance wrote on a Twitter post. “as he was already advised of this multiple times and provided the LE contact form through our support chat system on 7/6, 7/12, and 7/22.
Attempting to mislead the community in regards to your case will not change anything, unfortunately.”
Binance Froze The Account After a Law Enforcement Request
The cryptocurrency exchange stated that they were obligated to intervene after local law enforcement requested the account block.
“Binance is required to cooperate with such requests, the same as any other exchange.”
Given that the cryptocurrency exchange has several offices around the world, it is still not clear which government law enforcement issued the request.
Baking Bad’s LinkedIn page states that the Tezoz staking reward auditor is located in Estonia. Therefore it is safe to assume the request was done by a European law enforcement agency.
Baking Bad Fires Back at Binance
On the same Twitter post where Binance explained why they chose to block the account worth over $1 million dollars, Baking Bad also responded to Binance’s allegations.
Baking Bad claims they tried contacting Binance several times. Also, the company claims they still had 20 days to fill what is assumed to be a government tax form, which according to Baking Bad, means that the decision to block its account was solely done by Binance.
“Yes, we sent about five requests from this form,” Baking Bad wrote on Twitter. “And every time we wrote this in support. We haven’t received any response, despite the fact that the deadline is 20 days. So it seems that they have nothing to do with it and it is Binance’s decision.”
Binance’s History of Complying With Government’s Demands
In the past, Binance has demonstrated cooperation with several law enforcement and regulatory agencies that placed restrictions on organizations and people with Russian roots after the commencement of the war in Ukraine.
Binance will not “unilaterally freeze millions of innocent users’ accounts,” according to a spokesman who talked to Cointelegraph in February. CEO Changpeng Zhao stated that the exchange must adhere to penalties in a manner similar to those of traditional financial institutions.
However, in April, the exchange placed restrictions on the accounts of Russian citizens and residents, preventing them from using Binance’s spot, futures, and custody wallets, as well as staked and earned deposits, to deposit money or conduct transactions.
