Binance Coin (BNB) Tanks 12.5% As Binance Auditor Mazars Suspends Ties

BNB, the native cryptocurrency of crypto exchange Binance has tanked 12.5% in the last 24 hours as news arrived that Binance’s auditing partner Mazars Group has suspended ties. The BNB crypto is currently trading at a price of $230 and has dropped by 20% on the weekly chart.

Amid the chaos caused by the FTX collapse, Binance recently unveiled its Proof-of-Reserves report in partnership with accounting firm Mazars Group. However, many found the report to be opaque while questioning the overall health of the exchange.

Things have now turned interesting as Mazars Groups has suspended ties with all crypto firms. This includes cutting ties with KuCoin, Binance, and Crypto.com. In a statement to CNBC, the Mazars Group explained:

They “paused its activity relating to the provision of Proof of Reserves Reports for entities in the cryptocurrency sector due to concerns regarding the way these reports are understood by the public.”

However, the auditing firm added that their reports are “performed in accordance with Reporting Standards relevant to an Agreed Upon Procedures report.”

Mazars Removes Binance’s Report

Soon after the announcement came on Friday, Binance’s Proof-of-Reserves report was removed from the official Mazars website. A Binance spokesperson said:

“Mazars has indicated that they will temporarily pause their work with all of their crypto clients globally. Unfortunately, this means that we will not be able to work with Mazars for the moment”.

However, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao said that they are working with other auditing firms without naming one. CZ added that auditing firms don’t have a clear understanding of how to audit blockchain and crypto users. He also added that many audit firms are scared of crypto businesses.

“There are a few audit firms that audited FTX and they got burned because they give the stamp of approval, and I don’t know how they did the audits. But audits don’t reveal every problem,” continued Zhao.

There have been several questions raised about Binance’s health over the last week. This has also led to major selling in the BNB token. However, the exchange has effectively handled outflows of $4 billion so far. CZ said that the exchange’s financially strong and there’s no reason to worry.