London court orders Binance to trace cryptocurrency hackers
London’s High Court has ordered Binance, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, to identify hackers and freeze their accounts after one user said it was the victim of a $2.6 million hack.
In a judgment made public this week, a High Court judge granted requests by artificial intelligence (AI) company Fetch.ai for Binance to take steps to identify the hackers and track and seize the assets.
While involving a relatively small sum, the case is one of the first public ones involving Binance and will be a test of the English court system’s ability to tackle fraud on cryptocurrency platforms.
“We can confirm that we are helping Fetch.ai in the recovery of assets,” a Binance spokesperson said.
“Binance routinely freezes accounts that are identified as having suspicious activity occurring in line with our security policies and commitment to ensuring that users are protected while using our platform.”
Binance, which has an opaque corporate structure, has faced intense regulatory scrutiny amid a worldwide crackdown on cryptocurrencies over concerns that such exchanges could be used for money laundering or to allow consumers to fall victim to scams or runaway bets.
While involving a relatively small sum, the case is one of the first public ones involving Binance and will be a test of the English court system’s ability to tackle fraud on cryptocurrency platforms.
“We can confirm that we are helping Fetch.ai in the recovery of assets,” a Binance spokesperson said.
“Binance routinely freezes accounts that are identified as having suspicious activity occurring in line with our security policies and commitment to ensuring that users are protected while using our platform.”
Binance, which has an opaque corporate structure, has faced intense regulatory scrutiny amid a worldwide crackdown on cryptocurrencies over concerns that such exchanges could be used for money laundering or to allow consumers to fall victim to scams or runaway bets.