Binance wants SEC chair Gary Gensler recused for ‘advising’ the crypto exchange
Court filings by crypto exchange Binance claim that Securities and Exchange Commission ( SEC ) chair Gary Gensler approached the firm in 2019 and served as an “informal advisor,” and therefore should be recused in the SEC ’s lawsuit. In 2019, Gensler wasn’t yet the SEC chair but taught at MIT. According to a letter from Binance’s counsel, he sat down for lunch in March of that year with chief Changpeng Zhao (CZ) in Japan. During this meeting, the firm claims the pair discussed Binance opening an exchange in the US. The letter claims that Gensler offered to serve as an informal advisor during this meeting. “Mr. Gensler should have been recused from any consideration in this matter based on this history and the prospect that Mr. Gensler may be a material fact witness,” Binance’s counsel wrote. “To date, the Staff has never confirmed whether Mr. Gensler has recused himself.” The letter further claimed that Gensler gave CZ a sneak peek of his planned testimony before t...