Bearish Social Media Sentiment For BNB Spikes In Response To Binance’s Investigation

BNB sees a surge in engagement levels across social media as SEC’s investigation looms.

Binance’s BNB is currently enjoying the spotlight across social media, with the engagement levels around the token surging significantly. Data from Lunacrush indicate that the token’s social engagement has increased 23.6% over the last seven days to 130 million.

Seven days Social engagement and Socia mention chart for BNB. Source: Lunarcrush

Furthermore, the social mentions of BNB are over 166,000, a 1.37% rise over seven days.  From the chart, it is clear to see that both metrics have experienced significant spikes. The reason for this is the US securities exchange commissions (SEC’s) recent announcement of a probe into Binance Holdings. 

SEC to Investigate Binance Over BNB’s ICO

This week, the SEC announced it would investigate Binance Holdings for a possible breach of security rules. The probe is linked with the company’s sale of the BNB tokens in 2017 when the Binance exchange launched. The regulators intend to prove that BNB’s initial coin offering(ICO) amounted to the sale of a security that should have been registered with the government. 

The new investigation also continues a worrying situation for Binance, who has come into the crosshairs of Washington. Binance’s CEO, Changpeng Zhao, is being investigated over links to two entities trading on Binance. Furthermore, the exchange faces a combined inquiry into tax and money laundering issues from the Internal Revenue Service and the Department of Justice. Meanwhile, a probe into insider trading and market manipulation by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission is active.

According to the US security laws, if investors buy a virtual currency to fund a firm or project for profit, it may fall under securities. The SEC believes BInance ran afoul of this rule when the BNB was launched.

Binance, on her part, issued half of 200 million tokens in an ICO held across multiple platforms in 2017. It revealed that it put as much as 85% of the funds raised into developing the exchange. However, it did not place any restrictions on participation in the sales. 

Consequently, the SEC believes at least one US citizen may have bought the token at the ICO. This point could be crucial if the SEC seeks to maintain jurisdiction in any action it brings. However, the investigation may not lead to a probe of an individual or Binance itself. Nonetheless, it has caused crypto enthusiasts to debate the possible effects the probe may have on the BNB token.

Bullish Sentiment Trumps Bearish Sentiments For BNB

Meanwhile, BNB’s social media engagement has tended to be more positive than negative. According to the data, Positive sentiments for the token is up 14.25% in the last seven days, with bearish views dropping by almost 10%

Seven-day sentiment chart for BNB. Source: Lunarcrush

The chart shows that BNB has seen significant spikes in positive sentiments several times, with the value crossing 1,500 impressions each time. However, negative views about the token only saw a surge immediately after the SEC’s announcement reaching over 2000 impressions before plummeting immediately. 

Consequently, the data shows investors are bullish about the token despite the investigation. This is seen in BNB’s price, which bounced off the lows of $278, its lowest value in over nine weeks.  

Do you think the BNB investors would maintain their bullish outlook throughout the SEC’s Investigation? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.