Crypto exchange Binance[1] has released a statement[2] today, April 26, denying allegations[3] against Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao that he broke an exclusivity contract with VC firm Sequoia last fall.
Sequoia had sought a temporary injunction against Zhao, known in the crypto community as “CZ”, to prevent him from negotiating with other investors after Zhao’s negotiators had broken off a deal with Sequoia last December, reportedly due to the rising price of BTC[4] making the terms unfavorable to Binance.
In the online statement published today, Binance’s legal team writes that the “SCC [Sequoia Capital China] obtained an ex parte injunction without notice against Mr. Zhao at the end of December 2017,” stating:
“After a hearing attended by both parties' legal representatives in April 2018, the High Court of Hong Kong has now determined that this injunction should not have been granted, as it had been improperly obtained and constituted an abuse of process by SCC. On this basis, SCC was ordered to pay Mr. Zhao's costs in relation to the legal proceedings.”
The statement adds that Zhao will make no further comment on the situation.
Binance is the number one crypto exchange by 24 hour trading volume on CoinMarketCap[5], reporting around $2.6 billion in trading today. The exchange had recently announced it would be opening an office in Malta[6], after receiving a notice to about its unregistered status in Japan[7] by the country’s Financial Services Authority.
References
- ^ Binance (cointelegraph.com)
- ^ released a statement (support.binance.com)
- ^ allegations (cointelegraph.com)
- ^ rising price of BTC (cointelegraph.com)
- ^ CoinMarketCap (coinmarketcap.com)
- ^ opening
