US officials now investigating Binance for potential insider trading, market manipulation: report

Bloomberg reported Friday that a broad U.S. government investigation into the operator of crypto exchange Binance has widened to include "whether Binance or its staff profited by taking advantage of its customers."

Citing anonymous sources, the outlet said that U.S. officials including the Commodity Futures Trading Commission are investigating the exchange operator for "possible insider trading and market manipulation." In recent months, Bloomberg has covered what officials say is a wide-ranging inquiry into Binance, encompassing efforts from the Internal Revenue Service and the Department of Justice as well as the CFTC. 

Bloomberg further reported Friday that the CFTC has been contacting "potential witnesses" as part of the new inquiry area.

The news comes amid Binance's efforts to shore up its compliance and regulatory efforts. Last month, Binance moved to enforce mandatory KYC on its user base. The exchange operator framed the decision as part of a process to "determine changes and improvements in light of evolving global compliance standards."

On Friday, Binance hired former Europol dark web specialist Nils Andersen Röed to serve as its senior director of audit and investigations.

"His focus will be on conducting and leading internal and external investigations with the purpose of identifying bad actors that attempt to commit crimes on Binance's platforms and to protect users' funds, as well as proactively supporting law enforcement agencies with their investigations," Binance said in a press statement.