Ex-Ripple Exec Reveals Why Binance Refused Gary Gensler As Advisor In 2019

Former Ripple director Sean McBride recently revealed a startling fact encompassing Gary Gensler and Binance, the leading crypto exchange. Reportedly, Gensler was supposed to be an advisor to Binance, however, certain circumstances changed the tables.

Binance Turned Down Gary Gensler’s Entry As Advisor

The former Ripple director revealed that he spoke to his friend who works at Binance and got hold of this shocking piece of information. The Binance employee revealed that the exchange declined Gary Gensler’s advisory role in 2019. The reason he cited was concerns over his connections with FTX and its founder Sam Bankman-Fried.

The former Ripple executive’s statement sheds light on Gensler’s failed attempt to join the largest crypto exchange as he later joined the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as the chairman. However, it’s to be noted that Binance’s decision in 2019 couldn’t have stemmed from the FTX collapse since that happened way later.

The potential reason could be that Binance considered FTX as its competitor and barred Gensler’s entry. However, the leading crypto exchange had invested in FTX during its inception, hence, this theory doesn’t seem feasible. On the other hand, it could be possible that Binance was familiar with FTX and its founder Sam Bankman-Fried‘s questionable activities, which pushed the crypto exchange to deny taking in Gensler as their advisor.

Moreover, Reuters reported that in 2020, banks raised questions about FTX’s sister company, Alameda Research’s wire activity. In addition, some banks refused to carry out wire transfers to and from Alameda when FTX struggled to enter the U.S. banking system. This suggests that before the FTX collapse, several entities associated with the crypto exchange had an idea of what was going on.

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Gary Gensler’s Connection With Sam Bankman-Fried

Earlier, amid escalating tensions surrounding Sam Bankman-Fried’s trial for alleged fraud, scrutiny intensifies on Gary Gensler due to alleged close connections with the embattled figure in the crypto realm. Last year, a subpoena threat loomed over SEC Chairman Gary Gensler from Rep. Patrick McHenry, head of the House Financial Services Committee, seeking more clarity on the FTX crash. This rightly indicates that Binance’s concerns were accurate.

“You’ve been less than forthcoming with Congress regarding your engagements with FTX and Sam Bankman-Fried,” McHenry confronted Gensler during a hearing on September 27, 2023. Meanwhile, Rep. Ritchie Torres from New York pointed fingers at Gensler in December, holding him “singularly responsible for the regulatory failures surrounding the collapse of FTX.”

Whilst, Gensler opted to maintain silence regarding his involvement in the downfall of the crypto exchange. Moreover, during the recent hearing with McHenry, Gensler merely mentioned that his team would cooperate with McHenry’s staff on the issue, despite frequent interruptions from the congressman.

A significant concern stemmed from Gensler’s alleged extensive connections to FTX. Furthermore, several associates of Gensler reportedly had affiliations with FTX and played roles in facilitating meetings between Gensler and Sam Bankman-Fried.

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