China's CCTV airs Binance lawsuit in rare crypto coverage

China's state broadcaster, CCTV, aired the news that the United States Securities and Exchange Commission sued crypto exchange Binance, its co-founder and CEO Changpeng Zhao and its American affiliate, Binance.US, in a rare moment of crypto coverage.

The segment briefed the news, saying the SEC filed the lawsuit alleging the defendants violated U.S. securities laws. It also mentioned that the prices of bitcoin and Binance's native BNB coin fell after the news broke.

The SEC lawsuit gained significant media attention due to Binance's status as the world's largest crypto exchange. The crypto sector has faced increased scrutiny in the U.S. since the downfall of FTX. Prosecutors have alleged that FTX engaged in fraudulent activities that harmed its users.

Notably, the CCTV broadcast also mentioned the lawsuit by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission against Binance and Zhao in March — similar to the SEC's but focusing on the sale of crypto derivatives. It is not immediately clear whether CCTV covered the CFTC lawsuit also in March.

CCTV rarely covers crypto-related news, which makes this broadcast appear significant — capturing wider attention. The outcome of the lawsuit could have wide-ranging implications for the regulatory landscape of cryptocurrencies.

Last month, CCTV broadcast a segment about cryptocurrencies that featured the Bitcoin logo — a "big deal," according to Binance's Zhao, as "historically, coverages like these led to bull runs."

The segment featured what appeared to be a Bitcoin ATM in Hong Kong. Besides a large blue Bitcoin logo, an option that said "Buy Bitcoins" was visible. NFTs were also highlighted in the segment — which has since been taken down.