Binance Denies Sequoia's Allegation For Exclusivity Breach

Zhao Changpeng, the founder of Binance, one of the world's largest cryptocurrency exchanges by trading volume, has denied an allegation for breaching an exclusivity agreement.

In a blog post published Thursday, Binance issued a response to the report yesterday which indicated that Zhao is currently facing a lawsuit filed with the Hong Kong High Court by venture capital giant Sequoia, once a potential investor of Binance.

"Mr. Zhao denies all of Sequoia's allegations relating to the present dispute. As the substantive issues in dispute between the parties are subject to confidential arbitration proceedings, Mr. Zhao will make no further comment on the matter," the company said.

As reported yesterday, the case stems from the collapse of once a potential capital injection deal from Sequoia.

While the talk fell through, the venture capital firm brought up the lawsuit against Zhao, alleging him for breaking an exclusivity agreement by talking to another potential investor IDG Capital in December last year.

While a previous Hong Kong court order has barred Zhao from talking to other potential investors, Binance suggested that the court may have had a second thought now on whether the order should be issued.

"Sequoia obtained an ex parte injunction without notice against Mr. Zhao at the end of December 2017. After a hearing attended by both parties' legal representatives in April 2018, the High Court of Hong Kong has now determined that this injunction should not have been granted, as it had been improperly obtained and constituted an abuse of process by SCC," the company said.

While refraining from explaining details in regards to the next step of the case, the company said SCC was ordered to pay Mr. Zhao's costs in relation to the legal proceedings.

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