Did Binance move $400 million from Silvergate Bank to merit peak?

Crypto exchange Binance moved around $400 million in funds from Binance US's Silvergate Bank account to a trading firm called Merit Peak, Reuters reported Thursday. According to the report, Binance moved the funds between January and March 2021 from BAM Trading's Silvergate account. BAM Trading is the name of the entity operating Binance US.

Is merit peak a Binance company?

BAM Trading is the name of the entity operating Binance US. Merit Peak is a trading firm the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is investigating over its ties to Binance. Former Binance US CEO Catherine Coley reportedly asked about the funds and their transfers at the end of 2020.

Did Binance keep'secret access' to a bank account?

Late Thursday evening, Reuters reported that Binance maintained “secret access” to a bank account belonging to Binance.US, the American exchange that is supposed to be independent from the international entity, and transferred hundreds of millions of dollars to a trading firm managed by Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ).

Where were Binance US customers deposited?

The customer deposits of Binance.US were also held at Silvergate and with Prime Trust LLC, a custodian firm based in Nevada. Bank records show Prime Trust moved $650 million in wire transfers to the Binance.US account during Q1 2021, and it was unclear why the transfers were made or whether the money belonged to Binance.US customers.