A recent report by the Wall Street Journal suggested that Binance had disregarded its internal investigations regarding market manipulation to maintain relationships with key clients.
For instance, in 2023, a trading firm called DWF Labs, led by Andrei Grachev, reportedly engaged in over $4 billion in trades monthly on Binance. It was claimed that DWF offered a service generating "artificial volume" for clients, inflating token prices.
One specific example in the report referred to Yield Guild Games, a token DWF had invested in. Grachev's positive tweet about it was followed by DWF selling a large number of tokens, causing the token's price to rapidly drop.
Internal surveillance at Binance recommended removing DWF after investigating these events, which found wash trades. Conversely, a second internal team at Binance suggested that the firm's wash trades might have been unintentional, resulting in Binance retaining DWF.
The report indicated that two traders accounted for a significant portion of Binance's 2023 volume, which may have impacted decision-making. Binance’s internal surveillance team also expressed concerns about the platform’s accounts trading cryptocurrencies, reflecting allegations seen in a recent CFTC complaint that Binance settled.
After the internal team's findings about DWF, the Wall Street Journal mentioned the removal of the team lead, lay-offs of other investigators, and resignations within the team.
Tron and Justin Sun
Before joining DWF, Grachev worked with Huobi, now known as HTX, in Russia. HTX is advised by Justin Sun, who also heads Tron Foundation, which was previously flagged by Binance's investigators.
Following charges of market manipulation and wash trading by the SEC, Binance decided to terminate Tron Foundation. However, despite these accusations, Binance continued to support TrueUSD, where Sun is linked as a partner market maker. Binance even promoted TrueUSD as a 'zero-fee' base asset when discontinuing Tron Foundation.
Recent market shifts have seen First Digital USD rising as TrueUSD’s market cap drops, allegedly indicating Binance’s favoritism.
The report implies a culture at Binance that tolerates illicit practices if the platform benefits.
