Since the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) began to scrutinize the cryptocurrency trading platform Binance, the world’s largest by volume, the platform has seen a significant drop in the amount of bitcoin (BTC) trading activity. According to data from CoinMarketCap, the volume of BTC traded on Binance dropped from nearly $1.3 billion on May 21 to under $300 million yesterday.
The sudden decrease in trading volume is likely due to the SEC’s increased attention toward the cryptocurrency exchange. The US regulator has requested documents from Binance and rival exchange BitMEX as it seeks to identify potential violations of federal securities laws. The SEC’s investigation has been focusing on BitMEX in particular, but it appears that the scrutiny has caused investors to scale back their activity on Binance temporarily.
Despite the drop in trading volume, Binance remains the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange in terms of volume. It currently accounts for 21.86% of all BTC trading activity worldwide, according to CoinMarketCap. It is unclear how long the SEC’s investigation will last, but for now, traders appear to be taking a more cautious approach to their investments on the platform.
