Binance Staff Suspended Amid Insider Trading Allegations
Key Takeaways:
- Binance launched an internal investigation after receiving a complaint about insider trading.
- A staff member was suspended for allegedly front-running a token launch using insider knowledge from BNB Chain.
- The exchange rewarded whistleblowers and pledged to cooperate with authorities.
In response to insider trading allegations, Binance, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, has recently suspended an employee from its Binance Wallet team after conducting an internal investigation. The probe began on March 23 after Binance received a whistleblower report accusing an unnamed employee of “front-running trades using insider information to gain improper profits,” according to a March 25 post by Binance on X.
Investigation Findings on Staff Misconduct in Trading
Dear Binance Users and Community Members,
On March 23, 2025, Binance’s Internal Audit team received a complaint alleging that one of our staff members engaged in front-running trades using insider information to gain… pic.twitter.com/SVVvu4rX1x
— Binance Wallet (@BinanceWallet) March 25, 2025
Details of Binance’s Investigation into Alleged Misconduct and Potential Identification
The preliminary investigation suggests that the employee, recently appointed to the Binance Wallet team after a business development role at BNB Chain, allegedly used insider information from their previous job to profit from upcoming token launches. Although Binance has not publicly identified the employee, some on X have indicated Freddie Ng, a former operations manager at BNB Chain, as the potentially implicated person. According to his LinkedIn profile, Ng joined Binance Wallet’s business development team last month.
An X user “py” noted that a wallet tracked by DEX Screener showed a profit of $82,400 from the affected token, U DEX Platform (UUU). This wallet had received UUU tokens from another wallet, which was initially funded by the address “freddieng.binance”—an address that Ng had previously shared on his X account.
Binance said the employee was aware of a project that was set to hold a Token Generation Event (TGE) and expected it to generate plenty of interest from the community. The employee allegedly used multiple linked wallet addresses to acquire large amounts of the project’s tokens before any public announcement. The employee then sold some of those tokens to cash in on substantial profits after the announcement.
Ng has not publicly commented on it, responding with silence when asked. Binance also did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
The behavior constituted front-running based on non-public information that he had gleaned from his former position and was a clear breach of company policy, Binance said.
Binance Responds Rigorously and Vows to Cooperate
Binance has taken the alleged misconduct very seriously, and the employee has been suspended immediately pending further disciplinary action. The exchange reassured users that it continuously monitors suspicious activities and employs advanced tracking systems to detect market manipulation. The company also stated it intends to cooperate with relevant authorities in the employee’s jurisdiction and that appropriate legal action will be taken. Related assets will remain in full compliance with relevant laws and regulations, the exchange stated.
This is not the first time such incidents have occurred in the crypto space. Several high-profile cases of insider trading have emerged in recent years, prompting calls for stricter regulations and transparency across crypto exchanges. A former manager at the cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, Ishan Wahi, admitted in 2023 that he leaked secret information about upcoming token listings, further worsening an already fragile situation.
Binance said it maintains a “zero tolerance” policy when it comes to misconduct, adding that it intends to implement tighter internal controls and other policy improvements to prevent a repeat.
Reward for Whistleblower and Community Participation
Binance also gave credit to the public for helping uncover the alleged misconduct and thanked those who brought the issue forward.
That said, the exchange has incentivized people who filed reports using the official whistleblowing channel (audit@binance.com) with a sum of $100,000 split equally between four anonymous individuals. This is to protect the interests of the whistleblowers. Binance encourages the community to submit any future leads through this channel only.
Binance co-founder Yi He had previously offered bounties of up to $10,000 to employees who report colleagues engaging in insider trading or leaking sensitive business information. This illustrates Binance’s hands-on effort to keep a clean and credible trading ecosystem in place.
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