Binance sues Forbes and two other crypto journalists

Binance has sued Forbes and two cryptocurrency journalists for defamation following the Tai Chi document leak last month

Binance filed a lawsuit in the state of New Jersey against Forbes Media and two cryptocurrency journalists for what it claims was defamation. The lawsuit was a result of the Tai Chi document published by Forbes last month.

According to the leaked Tai Chi document, Forbes claimed that Binance created a corporate plan that allowed them to profit from the United States markets while avoiding the country’s regulatory scrutiny.

Binance filed the lawsuit in the US District Court in New Jersey, with the cryptocurrency exchange accusing Forbes and two writers, Michael Del Castillo and Jason Brett of harming Binance’s reputation. The crypto exchange claims that the published story contains numerous false, misleading and defamatory statements.

Binance denied several of the allegations mentioned in the Forbes story. It went further to refute the integrity of the Tai Chi document leaked by the media house. In its lawsuit, Binance is demanding that Forbes take down the article and pay damages for tainting their reputation. However, the damage fees would be determined at trial.

Binance remains one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world. Although Binance has sued other companies in the past, this is the first time it is battling a news company. CZ also previously threatened to sue The Block, a crypto news outlet.

Binance spokesperson stated that the company supports freedom, including freedom of information and freedom of the press. Hence, the lawsuit against Forbes shouldn’t be considered as a threat to reporting on Binance. The spokesperson added that Binance and other leading companies need the media to keep them accountable and report information to the public.

Tai Chi document

According to the Forbes article, Tai Chi document revealed an elaborate corporate structure designed to intentionally deceive regulators in the United States and surreptitiously profit from crypto investors in the country.

The 2018 document shows a yet-unnamed US company dubbed the “Tai Chi entity”. The unnamed entity was to set up operations in the US and distract regulators with feigned interest in compliance. However, they would be moving funds as licensing fees and more to the parent company, Binance.

Furthermore, the crypto exchange would teach customers how to avoid geographic restrictions as they put technological workarounds in place. All these efforts were to evade regulators as the United States doesn’t allow highly leveraged crypto-derivatives trading.