Binance Launches Internal Investigation Following Reports of BOME Insider Trading

Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, has initiated an internal investigation in response to mounting concerns and community discussions regarding potential insider trading associated with Book of Meme (BOME), a meme coin built on the Solana blockchain. 

On Monday, Binance issued an official statement on the X platform announcing the commencement of the inquiry.

“Recently, we have noticed discussions in the community about the so-called Binance ‘BOME rat warehouse’ incident,”

the exchange wrote.

“We take this information very seriously and immediately launched an internal investigation based on relevant leads.”

The primary objective of the investigation is to determine whether any Binance personnel were involved in the alleged misconduct.

Binance has urged individuals with information about wrongdoing, including insider trading or corruption related to currency listings, to come forward. 

The exchange has pledged rewards ranging from $100,000 to $5 million for verified reports, ensuring the anonymity of whistleblowers.

📢关于“#BOME 老鼠仓”相关信息的调查结果公示

近期，我们注意到社区中关于所谓币安“BOME老鼠仓”事件的讨论。我们非常重视这一信息，并根据相关线索立即启动了内部调查。根据我们初步的调查结果，相关信息中所提及的人员与币安无关。…

— 币安Binance华语 (@binancezh) March 18, 2024

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Findings and BOME Price Surge

According to Binance’s statement, the preliminary findings of the internal investigation have revealed no connection between the individual in question and the exchange. 

Upon receiving information about the large BOME transaction, we immediately initiated an internal investigation, and the results showed that the user is not a member of Binance staff.

Transparency is a top priority at Binance, and our investigations team will continue to look…

— Binance Customer Support (@BinanceHelpDesk) March 18, 2024

However, the exchange has reiterated its commitment to conducting comprehensive investigations into the misconduct allegations in the BOME insider trading case. It has maintained an openness to feedback from its user community.

“If you have any reports involving currency listing and other corruption, or if we verify that Binance team members are corrupt, we will provide you with a reward of US$100,000 to US$5 million while keeping your identity confidential,” the exchange stated, emphasizing its commitment to market fairness and transparency.

The allegations of insider trading followed Binance’s recent announcement of plans to list BOME on its platform, effective March 16 at 12:30 UTC, and offer spot trading pairs such as BOME/BTC, BOME/USDT, BOME/FDUSD, and BOME/TRY. 

On Friday, on-chain data firm Lookonchain reported that a wallet withdrew 12,721 SOL worth around $2.3 million from Binance and bought 314 million BOME at $0.0074 before its listing.

Binance will list Book of Meme ( $BOME )

This guy really knows something!https://t.co/6EwL4QmG13 pic.twitter.com/POL1chaFwh

— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) March 16, 2024

Following the listing announcement, BOME’s value surged significantly, reaching $0.02703, a 345% increase. Its trading volume rose by 262% to $3.8 billion, placing BOME among the most-traded cryptocurrencies.

The BOME insider trading allegations highlight the ongoing concerns within the cryptocurrency industry regarding insider trading and market manipulation. 

Last year, a former Coinbase product manager was sentenced to two years in prison in a landmark insider trading case. This shows the strictness towards insider trading and how it can greatly affect Binance if it is true.

#Binance alleged of insider trading allegation after a user withdrew 12,721 SOL ($2.3M) from Binance to buy $BOME Solana memecoin. pic.twitter.com/CDRrux5DDi

— Coinwaft (@coinwaft) March 18, 2024