Binance's crypto token hits lowest in 5 months amid US charges, asset freeze

By Ovunc Kutlu

ISTANBUL (AA) - The world's biggest cryptocurrency trading platform, Binance's own blockchain-based native token BNB, saw its price Wednesday plummeting to the lowest level in five months, according to official figures.

Price of the trading platform's native crypto token dove to $253.4 during the day -- the lowest since Jan. 4.

BNB partially recovered later to $262.2 at 2.06 p.m. EDT for a daily loss of 7.1%. It is down a massive 14.4% in the past seven days.

The native token for the Binance platform and its ecosystem still ranks fourth among cryptocurrencies based on market capitalization with a value just above $40 billion, according to data from the digital asset price-tracking website CoinMarketCap.

The decline in value comes after the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said earlier it filed an emergency action application seeking a temporary restraining order to freeze assets of the company's American subsidiary Binance.US.

The SEC filed 13 charges Monday against Binance entities and CEO Changpeng Zhao for violating several US securities laws, which included operating unregistered exchanges, broker-dealers and clearing agencies, misrepresenting trading controls and oversight on the Binance.US platform and unregistered offer and sale of securities.