Page 1 EXHIBIT A-59Page 2 Grant P. Fondo
+1 650 752 GFondo@goodwinlaw.com
Goodwin Procter LLP
601 Marshall Street
Redwood City, CA
Meghan K. Spillane
+1 212 459 MSpillane@goodwinlaw.com
The New York Times Building
620 Eighth Avenue
New York, NY goodwinlaw.com
CONFIDENTIAL TREATMENT REQUESTED
BY BAM TRADING SERVICES INC.
PURSUANT TO 17 C.F.R. § 200.January 27, VIA FTP (ENF-CPU@SEC.GOV)
Kathleen Hitchins
Senior Counsel, Division of Enforcement
U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission
100 F Street, NE
Washington, DC 20549-Re:
ENF-CPU
U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission
6315 Bren Mar Drive, Suite Alexandria, VA ENF-CPU@sec.gov
In the Matter of Binance.US (HO-13865)
Dear Ms. Hitchins:
As you know, we represent BAM Trading Services Inc. (“BAM Trading”) in the
above captioned matter. We write with respect to the subpoena issued by the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) to BAM Trading dated December 17,
2020 (the “Subpoena”). In response to the Subpoena and pursuant to our prior
discussions regarding the Subpoena in September 2022, enclosed please find certain
updated narratives prepared by BAM Trading’s counsel responsive to Subpoena
Request Nos. 22 and 23 as Exhibit A. We have also attached as Exhibit B the log of
productions to date. As agreed, BAM Trading will also continue producing responsive
documents and narratives on a rolling basis.
None of the documents or information we are providing is intended to constitute a
waiver of any attorney-client privilege, attorney work product protection, or any other
legal privilege or other protection. Any production of privileged or otherwise protected
documents is inadvertent. We have not withheld any documents on the basis of
privilege or other protected grounds from this production, nor have any documents
within this production been redacted.
***
FOIA CONFIDENTIAL TREATMENT REQUESTED BY BAM
BTS00831945Page 3 Kathleen Hitchins
January 27, Page CONFIDENTIAL TREATMENT REQUESTED
BY BAM TRADING SERVICES INC.
PURSUANT TO 17 C.F.R. § 200.
Pursuant to 17 C.F.R. § 200.83, we respectfully request confidential treatment for
(i) this letter, (ii) the materials transmitted with this letter, (iii) any memoranda, notes,
correspondence, or other writings made by any member or employee of the
Commission relating to any of the foregoing documents or any conference or telephone
call with respect thereto, and (iv) any copies or extracts of any of the foregoing
(collectively, the “Confidential Materials”). This request for confidential treatment is
made for reasons of financial and business confidentiality under FOIA Exemption 4, U.S.C. § 552(b)(4). This request is not to be construed as a waiver of any other
protection from disclosure or confidential treatment accorded by law, and BAM Trading
will rely on and invoke any such confidentiality protection. We respectfully request that
the Confidential Materials be maintained in confidence, not be made part of any public
record, and not be disclosed to any person as it contains confidential information. In
accordance with 17 C.F.R.§ 200.83(d)(1), if any person (including any governmental
employee who is not an employee of the Commission) should request access to or an
opportunity to inspect this letter or any supplemental materials transmitted herewith, we
request that we be immediately notified of any such request, be furnished with a copy of
all written materials pertaining to such request (including, but not limited to, the request
itself) and be given at least ten business days advance notice of any intended release
so that BAM Trading may, if deemed necessary or appropriate, pursue any remedies
available to it. In such an event, we request that you contact the undersigned by
telephone, in addition to sending the required notice by mail.
[remainder of page intentionally left blank]
FOIA CONFIDENTIAL TREATMENT REQUESTED BY BAM
BTS00831946Page 4 Kathleen Hitchins
January 27, Page CONFIDENTIAL TREATMENT REQUESTED
BY BAM TRADING SERVICES INC.
PURSUANT TO 17 C.F.R. § 200.
***
Should you have any further questions regarding this matter, please do not
hesitate to contact us.
Sincerely,
/s/ Grant P. Fondo
Grant P. Fondo
Meghan K. Spillane
cc:
Colby Steele, Senior Counsel, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
Paul Kim, Assistant Director, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
Ann Rosenfield, Senior Counsel, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
Matthew Solomon, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP
Alexander Janghorbani, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP
Enclosures (via FTP)
FOIA CONFIDENTIAL TREATMENT REQUESTED BY BAM
BTS00831947Page 5 CONFIDENTIAL TREATMENT REQUESTED
BY BAM TRADING SERVICES INC.
PURSUANT TO 17 C.F.R. § 200.
Exhibit A: Updated Narrative Response to Request Nos. 22 and BAM Trading Services, Inc. (“BAM Trading”) provides the following updated narrative
descriptions in response to Request Nos. 22 and 23 of the Subpoena as part of BAM
Trading’s ongoing cooperation with the SEC’s investigation. 1 The descriptions below
are based upon BAM Trading’s reasonable investigation in response to the relevant
Requests, and reflect BAM Trading’s responses as of January 25, 2023. BAM Trading
expressly reserves the right to amend, revise, correct, supplement, or clarify any of the
below narrative descriptions pursuant to additional facts or information gathered at any
time after the date of this updated response.
SEC Request No. 22: Descriptions, schematics, or Documents sufficient to show how
BAM Trading and any other Person(s) (including entities) provide BAM Trading’s
services, including, but not limited to, distribution of digital assets; facilitation of
automated trading of digital assets; custody of funds and digital assets; compliance
services; clearing services; market-making services; staking-related services; or other
services Concerning digital assets.
Response to SEC Request 22 Regarding Market Making Services on the BAM
Trading Platform
I.
Market Making Services
BAM Trading does not itself act as a market maker. Instead, several BAM Trading
customers (“Users”) provide market making services on the BAM Trading Platform
pursuant to negotiated Market-Making Services Agreements with BAM Trading, and
depending on the need for liquidity in various trading pairs. As of January 25, 2023,
there are 19 market makers enrolled in the Market Maker Program 2 and operating on
the BAM Trading Platform.
As was described in BAM Trading’s July 1, 2022 production cover letter,3 in March
2022, BAM Trading substantially revised its Market Maker Program, launching its
current Program with a select number of liquidity providers. The program was
announced to the public in September 2022. BAM Trading institutional Users, as well
as high performing retail Users, may apply to join BAM Trading’s Market Maker
Program through a form on the BAM Trading website,4 or by contacting BAM Trading’s
institutional sales team directly. To qualify for BAM Trading’s Market Maker Program,
prospective marker makers must complete Corporate Account Verification, BAM
In its updated Response to SEC Request No. 22 produced on December 9, 2022, BAM Trading
provided updated information regarding its compliance services. See BTS00831892-BTS00831897.
All capitalized terms used but not defined herein have the meanings set forth in prior responses.
See BTS00831294.
The Market Maker Program application form is available on BAM Trading’s website at:
https://form.asana.com/?k=0gYF56zpokAp8fyQqEzZcg&d=1145658490987932.
FOIA CONFIDENTIAL TREATMENT REQUESTED BY BAM
BTS00831948Page 6 CONFIDENTIAL TREATMENT REQUESTED
BY BAM TRADING SERVICES INC.
PURSUANT TO 17 C.F.R. § 200.
Trading’s KYC process for institutional Users; meet certain criteria for historical trading
activity, liquidity availability throughout the day, the number of assets for which they are
providing market making services, and volume requirements; and enter into
Market-Making Services Agreements with BAM Trading, which govern the relationships
between BAM Trading and each market maker on an individual basis, including the fee
structure. BAM Trading previously produced a list of its market makers as of July 1,
2022,5 and the Market-Making Services Agreements it had entered into as of
October 28, 2022.6 Outside of the Market Maker Program, other institutional Users
provide liquidity on BAM Trading’s platform.
For your reference, BAM Trading has the following 19 market makers: (1) Wintermute
Trading Ltd; (2) KBIT Global Ltd; (3) Storm King Trading Corp; (4) Tower Research;
(5) James Jones; (6) HRTJ Limited; (7) Blazar Ltd; (8) Gravity Team Ltd; (9) Pulsar
Global Limited; (10) Reliz Ltd; (11) Digital Wave Finance AG; (12) FXE Prime Ltd;
(13) Skyfor; (14) Neon Pebble; (15) Odum Group; (16) L&L Group; (17) David Zheng;
(18) Blocktraders; and (19) Sigma Chain AG.
Pursuant to the Market-Making Services Agreements, market makers qualify for BAM
Trading’s lowest trading fee tier for any “taker” activity they engage in (assuming that
the Market Maker has reached BAM’s highest VIP level otherwise),7 and are eligible for
zero fee trading, or a rebate (Negative Maker Trading Fee) for any “maker” activity they
engage in across the “qualifying pairs” that contribute to the User’s “market maker
score” under the Market-Making Services Agreements.8 The market maker is eligible to
receive zero trading fees or a rebate on eligible pairs. The “market maker score” is a
weekly ranking of the market makers in BAM Trading’s Market Maker Program that
takes into account each market maker’s daily liquidity provided across “qualifying pairs,”
assuming the market maker meets certain quoting requirements as specified in the
Agreement. Under the current fee structure for BAM Trading’s Market Maker Program,
following a short grace period for new market makers during which such new market
makers are unranked, the Negative Maker Trading Fees for market makers in BAM
Trading’s Market Maker Program are as follows:
● The market makers ranked in the top 25% of market makers in the Market Maker
Program are subject to -0.005% “maker” fees for all trading pairs (other than BTC
and ETH pairs).
See BTS00831310.
See BTS00831652-BTS00831855.
BAM Trading’s current tiered fee structure is available on BAM Trading’s website at:
https://www.binance.us/fee/schedule. For avoidance of doubt, market makers in BAM Trading’s Market
Maker Program currently qualify for the “VIP 9” trading fee tier, which is currently BAM Trading’s lowest
trading fee tier. That means that market makers in BAM Trading’s Market Maker Program pay 0.0375%
or 0% “taker” f ees depending on the trading pair they are trading.
“Taker” and “maker” activities were described in full detail in BAM Trading’s Response to SEC Request
No. 27 produced on June 11, 2021. See BTS00037800-BTS00037802.
FOIA CONFIDENTIAL TREATMENT REQUESTED BY BAM
BTS00831949Page 7 CONFIDENTIAL TREATMENT REQUESTED
BY BAM TRADING SERVICES INC.
PURSUANT TO 17 C.F.R. § 200.
● The market makers ranked in the next 25% (i.e., the top 25–50%) of market
makers in the Market Maker Program are subject to -0.002% “maker” fees for all
trading pairs (other than BTC and ETH pairs).
● All market makers ranked in the top 75% (i.e., the top 50–75%) of market makers
in the Market Maker Program are subject to 0% “maker” fees for all trading pairs.
● All remaining market makers (i.e., the bottom 25% of market makers in the
Market Maker Program) are subject to 0% “maker” fees for certain supported
trading pairs.SEC Request No. 23: Descriptions, schematics, or Documents sufficient to explain or
show the entire lifecycle of all types of orders and transactions submitted and/or
executed on BAM Trading’s platform, including but not limited to, the different
permutations of how buy and sell orders may interact and execute on the BAM Trading
Platform or in connection with the BAM Trading Platform.
Updated Response to SEC Request 23 Regarding the BAM Trading Platform
Trading Products
I.
Trading Digital Assets for Other Digital Assets or Fiat Currency on the BAM
Trading Platform
Since its original Response to SEC Request Nos. 23 and 24 produced on June 11,
2021,11 BAM Trading has made certain changes to its over-the-counter trading (“OTC
Trading”) product and introduced a new trading product called “Convert.” BAM
Trading’s current OTC Trading and Convert trading products are described below. This
narrative does not alter descriptions of other trading products (e.g., OCBS) addressed in
prior narratives.
A.
OTC Trading
As described in its original Response to SEC Request Nos. 23 and 24 produced on
June 11, 2021,12 the OTC Trading product allows Users to engage in trades (generally
larger volume trades) in supported trading pairs as single block trades. In other words,
instead of a User submitting an order to buy or sell digital assets at a certain price
through the BAM Trading order book, and relying on the matching engine software to
find a corresponding order to complete the trade, Users are able to enter into bespoke
trades using the OTC Trading desk.
The supported trading pairs are currently: AVAX/USD, BCH/USD, DOGE/USD, ETH/USD, ETH/USDT,
LINK/USD, LTC/USD, and UNI/USD.
In its original Response to SEC Request Nos. 23 and 24 produced on June 11, 2021, this section
appeared as Section III. See BTS00037795-BTS00037800.
See BTS00037793-BTS00037800.
See BTS00037800.
FOIA CONFIDENTIAL TREATMENT REQUESTED BY BAM
BTS00831950Page 8 CONFIDENTIAL TREATMENT REQUESTED
BY BAM TRADING SERVICES INC.
PURSUANT TO 17 C.F.R. § 200.
The current OTC desk allows for automated trading whereby the User submits an order
and receives an offer that the User has a certain amount of time to accept or decline. For orders over a certain size (a limit which varies depending upon the digital asset), the
OTC trade must be completed manually, and BAM Trading will interface between the
User and the liquidity provider to obtain a quote, and deliver an offer to the User. The
User will receive the lowest quoted price from the OTC Trading counterparties (with a
spread being collected by BAM Trading).
Currently, the sole counterparty for automated OTC Trading is Sigma Chain. Sigma
Chain became an OTC counterparty on February 23, 2022. For manual OTC trades,
GSR Markets Limited may also provide quotes and act as a counterparty where their
quote is most competitive. BAM Trading is in the process of onboarding additional OTC
Trading counterparties.
A screenshot of the OTC Trading portal, taken on December 23, 2022, is provided
below as Diagram 1:
B.
Convert
The Convert trading product provides Users with a simplified method for easily and
directly converting their digital assets into other assets across over 5,600 supported
trading pairs, instantly, with zero fees beyond a spread that BAM Trading collects as
part of the conversion rate. Similar to OTC, Convert operates separately from the spot
market and allows Users to place a trade by inputting the amount of digital assets that
the User would like to “convert” into a digital asset, or USD, and receive an of fer that the
User is free to accept or reject for a limited period of time. The Convert trading product
The prior OTC desk was not automated and Alameda was the sole counterparty to all OTC
transactions. As of November 9, 2022, Alameda Research Ltd ceased to be a User on the BAM Trading
Platf orm altogether.
FOIA CONFIDENTIAL TREATMENT REQUESTED BY BAM
BTS00831951Page 9 CONFIDENTIAL TREATMENT REQUESTED
BY BAM TRADING SERVICES INC.
PURSUANT TO 17 C.F.R. § 200.
has been available on the BAM Trading Platform since April 2021. Sigma Chain is the
sole liquidity provider for the Convert product.
BAM Trading is in the process of onboarding additional Convert counterparties.
A screenshot of the Convert trading product interface, taken on December 23, 2022, is
provided below as Diagram 2:
FOIA CONFIDENTIAL TREATMENT REQUESTED BY BAM
BTS00831952Page 10Page 11Page 12Page 13Page 14Page 15Page 16Page 17Page 18Page 19Page 20 Grant P. Fondo
+1 650 752 GFondo@goodwinlaw.com
Goodwin Procter LLP
601 Marshall Street
Redwood City, CA
Meghan K. Spillane
+1 212 459 MSpillane@goodwinlaw.com
The New York Times Building
620 Eighth Avenue
New York, NY goodwinlaw.com
CONFIDENTIAL TREATMENT REQUESTED
BY BAM TRADING SERVICES INC.
PURSUANT TO 17 C.F.R. § 200.January 27, BY FEDERAL EXPRESS AND EMAIL (RULE83CTRS@SEC.GOV)
Freedom of Information Act Officer
Office of Freedom of Information and Privacy Act Operations
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
100 F Street, NE
Mail Stop Washington, DC Re:
In the Matter of Binance.US (HO-13865)
Dear Sir/Madam:
The undersigned represent BAM Trading Services Inc. (“BAM Trading”) in the
above captioned matter. Pursuant to Securities and Exchange Commission Rule 83, C.F.R. § 200.83, we formally request that the U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission (the “Commission”) afford confidential treatment to our January 27, letter to Kathleen Hitchins, Senior Counsel, Division of Enforcement, Bates-stamped
numbers BTS00831945 – BTS00831962. A copy of our letter to Ms. Hitchins is
enclosed in an envelope marked “FOIA Confidential Treatment Requested.” This
request also applies to any transcripts, notes, memoranda, or other materials of any sort
which are made by any employee of the Commission or any other governmental agency
and which incorporate, refer, or relate to the letter and enclosed document (collectively,
the letter dated January 27, 2023 and the documents enclosed therein, and any
materials referring to the letter and the contents of the enclosed document are referred
to herein as the “Confidential Materials”).
All of the Confidential Materials contain or constitute confidential information. We
therefore request and expect that all of the Confidential Materials will be kept in a nonpublic file and that access to the Confidential Materials by any third party not a member
of the Commission or its staff will be denied. Should the Commission receive any
FOIA CONFIDENTIAL TREATMENT REQUESTED BY BAM
BTS00831963Page 21 FOIA Officer
January 27, Page CONFIDENTIAL TREATMENT REQUESTED
BY BAM TRADING SERVICES INC.
PURSUANT TO 17 C.F.R. § 200.
request for the Confidential Materials, whether pursuant to the Freedom of Information
Act, 5 U.S.C. § 522, or otherwise, we understand and expect that we will be given an
opportunity to object to such a disclosure. Moreover, should the Commission be
inclined to disclose the Confidential Materials to any third party not a member of the
Commission or its staff, it is our expectation and request that, in accordance with normal
Commission practice, we will be given ten business days’ advance notice of any such
intent by the Commission so that our client may pursue any available remedies. In that
event, we further request that you telephone undersigned counsel immediately in
addition to sending the required notice by mail.
On behalf of BAM Trading, we request an acknowledgement of receipt of this
written request that information not be disclosed under FOIA. Kindly acknowledge
receipt of this letter by signing and dating the enclosed copy and returning it to Meghan
K. Spillane in the enclosed self-addressed, stamped envelope.
Please contact any of us at the numbers provided above should you have any
questions or concerns about this request for confidential treatment.
Sincerely,
/s/ Grant P. Fondo
Grant P. Fondo
Meghan K. Spillane
cc:
Kathleen Hitchins, Senior Counsel, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
Colby Steele, Senior Counsel, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
Paul Kim, Assistant Director, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
Ann Rosenfield, Senior Counsel, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
Matthew Solomon, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP
Alexander Janghorbani, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP
Acknowledged by: ___________________________
Date: _____________________________________
FOIA CONFIDENTIAL TREATMENT REQUESTED BY BAM
BTS00831964
PDF Page 1
PlainSite Cover Page
PDF Page 2
Case 1:23-cv-01599-ABJ Document 18-11 Filed 06/06/23 Page 1 of 21
EXHIBIT A-59
PDF Page 3
Case 1:23-cv-01599-ABJ Document 18-11 Filed 06/06/23 Page 2 of 21
Grant P. Fondo
+1 650 752 3236
GFondo@goodwinlaw.com
Goodwin Procter LLP
601 Marshall Street
Redwood City, CA 94063
Meghan K. Spillane
+1 212 459 7193
MSpillane@goodwinlaw.com
The New York Times Building
620 Eighth Avenue
New York, NY 10018
goodwinlaw.com
CONFIDENTIAL TREATMENT REQUESTED
BY BAM TRADING SERVICES INC.
PURSUANT TO 17 C.F.R. § 200.83
January 27, 2023
VIA FTP (ENF-CPU@SEC.GOV)
Kathleen Hitchins
Senior Counsel, Division of Enforcement
U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission
100 F Street, NE
Washington, DC 20549-5720
Re:
ENF-CPU
U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission
6315 Bren Mar Drive, Suite 175
Alexandria, VA 22312
ENF-CPU@sec.gov
In the Matter of Binance.US (HO-13865)
Dear Ms. Hitchins:
As you know, we represent BAM Trading Services Inc. (“BAM Trading”) in the
above captioned matter. We write with respect to the subpoena issued by the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) to BAM Trading dated December 17,
2020 (the “Subpoena”). In response to the Subpoena and pursuant to our prior
discussions regarding the Subpoena in September 2022, enclosed please find certain
updated narratives prepared by BAM Trading’s counsel responsive to Subpoena
Request Nos. 22 and 23 as Exhibit A. We have also attached as Exhibit B the log of
productions to date. As agreed, BAM Trading will also continue producing responsive
documents and narratives on a rolling basis.
None of the documents or information we are providing is intended to constitute a
waiver of any attorney-client privilege, attorney work product protection, or any other
legal privilege or other protection. Any production of privileged or otherwise protected
documents is inadvertent. We have not withheld any documents on the basis of
privilege or other protected grounds from this production, nor have any documents
within this production been redacted.
***
FOIA CONFIDENTIAL TREATMENT REQUESTED BY BAM
BTS00831945
PDF Page 4
Case 1:23-cv-01599-ABJ Document 18-11 Filed 06/06/23 Page 3 of 21
Kathleen Hitchins
January 27, 2023
Page 2
CONFIDENTIAL TREATMENT REQUESTED
BY BAM TRADING SERVICES INC.
PURSUANT TO 17 C.F.R. § 200.83
Pursuant to 17 C.F.R. § 200.83, we respectfully request confidential treatment for
(i) this letter, (ii) the materials transmitted with this letter, (iii) any memoranda, notes,
correspondence, or other writings made by any member or employee of the
Commission relating to any of the foregoing documents or any conference or telephone
call with respect thereto, and (iv) any copies or extracts of any of the foregoing
(collectively, the “Confidential Materials”). This request for confidential treatment is
made for reasons of financial and business confidentiality under FOIA Exemption 4, 5
U.S.C. § 552(b)(4). This request is not to be construed as a waiver of any other
protection from disclosure or confidential treatment accorded by law, and BAM Trading
will rely on and invoke any such confidentiality protection. We respectfully request that
the Confidential Materials be maintained in confidence, not be made part of any public
record, and not be disclosed to any person as it contains confidential information. In
accordance with 17 C.F.R.§ 200.83(d)(1), if any person (including any governmental
employee who is not an employee of the Commission) should request access to or an
opportunity to inspect this letter or any supplemental materials transmitted herewith, we
request that we be immediately notified of any such request, be furnished with a copy of
all written materials pertaining to such request (including, but not limited to, the request
itself) and be given at least ten business days advance notice of any intended release
so that BAM Trading may, if deemed necessary or appropriate, pursue any remedies
available to it. In such an event, we request that you contact the undersigned by
telephone, in addition to sending the required notice by mail.
[remainder of page intentionally left blank]
FOIA CONFIDENTIAL TREATMENT REQUESTED BY BAM
BTS00831946
PDF Page 5
Case 1:23-cv-01599-ABJ Document 18-11 Filed 06/06/23 Page 4 of 21
Kathleen Hitchins
January 27, 2023
Page 3
CONFIDENTIAL TREATMENT REQUESTED
BY BAM TRADING SERVICES INC.
PURSUANT TO 17 C.F.R. § 200.83
***
Should you have any further questions regarding this matter, please do not
hesitate to contact us.
Sincerely,
/s/ Grant P. Fondo
Grant P. Fondo
Meghan K. Spillane
cc:
Colby Steele, Senior Counsel, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
Paul Kim, Assistant Director, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
Ann Rosenfield, Senior Counsel, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
Matthew Solomon, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP
Alexander Janghorbani, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP
Enclosures (via FTP)
FOIA CONFIDENTIAL TREATMENT REQUESTED BY BAM
BTS00831947
PDF Page 6
Case 1:23-cv-01599-ABJ Document 18-11 Filed 06/06/23 Page 5 of 21
CONFIDENTIAL TREATMENT REQUESTED
BY BAM TRADING SERVICES INC.
PURSUANT TO 17 C.F.R. § 200.83
Exhibit A: Updated Narrative Response to Request Nos. 22 and 23
BAM Trading Services, Inc. (“BAM Trading”) provides the following updated narrative
descriptions in response to Request Nos. 22 and 23 of the Subpoena as part of BAM
Trading’s ongoing cooperation with the SEC’s investigation. 1 The descriptions below
are based upon BAM Trading’s reasonable investigation in response to the relevant
Requests, and reflect BAM Trading’s responses as of January 25, 2023. BAM Trading
expressly reserves the right to amend, revise, correct, supplement, or clarify any of the
below narrative descriptions pursuant to additional facts or information gathered at any
time after the date of this updated response.
SEC Request No. 22: Descriptions, schematics, or Documents sufficient to show how
BAM Trading and any other Person(s) (including entities) provide BAM Trading’s
services, including, but not limited to, distribution of digital assets; facilitation of
automated trading of digital assets; custody of funds and digital assets; compliance
services; clearing services; market-making services; staking-related services; or other
services Concerning digital assets.
Response to SEC Request 22 Regarding Market Making Services on the BAM
Trading Platform
I.
Market Making Services
BAM Trading does not itself act as a market maker. Instead, several BAM Trading
customers (“Users”) provide market making services on the BAM Trading Platform
pursuant to negotiated Market-Making Services Agreements with BAM Trading, and
depending on the need for liquidity in various trading pairs. As of January 25, 2023,
there are 19 market makers enrolled in the Market Maker Program 2 and operating on
the BAM Trading Platform.
As was described in BAM Trading’s July 1, 2022 production cover letter,3 in March
2022, BAM Trading substantially revised its Market Maker Program, launching its
current Program with a select number of liquidity providers. The program was
announced to the public in September 2022. BAM Trading institutional Users, as well
as high performing retail Users, may apply to join BAM Trading’s Market Maker
Program through a form on the BAM Trading website,4 or by contacting BAM Trading’s
institutional sales team directly. To qualify for BAM Trading’s Market Maker Program,
prospective marker makers must complete Corporate Account Verification, BAM
1
In its updated Response to SEC Request No. 22 produced on December 9, 2022, BAM Trading
provided updated information regarding its compliance services. See BTS00831892-BTS00831897.
2
All capitalized terms used but not defined herein have the meanings set forth in prior responses.
3
See BTS00831294.
4
The Market Maker Program application form is available on BAM Trading’s website at:
https://form.asana.com/?k=0gYF56zpokAp8fyQqEzZcg&d=1145658490987932.
FOIA CONFIDENTIAL TREATMENT REQUESTED BY BAM
BTS00831948
PDF Page 7
Case 1:23-cv-01599-ABJ Document 18-11 Filed 06/06/23 Page 6 of 21
CONFIDENTIAL TREATMENT REQUESTED
BY BAM TRADING SERVICES INC.
PURSUANT TO 17 C.F.R. § 200.83
Trading’s KYC process for institutional Users; meet certain criteria for historical trading
activity, liquidity availability throughout the day, the number of assets for which they are
providing market making services, and volume requirements; and enter into
Market-Making Services Agreements with BAM Trading, which govern the relationships
between BAM Trading and each market maker on an individual basis, including the fee
structure. BAM Trading previously produced a list of its market makers as of July 1,
2022,5 and the Market-Making Services Agreements it had entered into as of
October 28, 2022.6 Outside of the Market Maker Program, other institutional Users
provide liquidity on BAM Trading’s platform.
For your reference, BAM Trading has the following 19 market makers: (1) Wintermute
Trading Ltd; (2) KBIT Global Ltd; (3) Storm King Trading Corp; (4) Tower Research;
(5) James Jones; (6) HRTJ Limited; (7) Blazar Ltd; (8) Gravity Team Ltd; (9) Pulsar
Global Limited; (10) Reliz Ltd; (11) Digital Wave Finance AG; (12) FXE Prime Ltd;
(13) Skyfor; (14) Neon Pebble; (15) Odum Group; (16) L&L Group; (17) David Zheng;
(18) Blocktraders; and (19) Sigma Chain AG.
Pursuant to the Market-Making Services Agreements, market makers qualify for BAM
Trading’s lowest trading fee tier for any “taker” activity they engage in (assuming that
the Market Maker has reached BAM’s highest VIP level otherwise),7 and are eligible for
zero fee trading, or a rebate (Negative Maker Trading Fee) for any “maker” activity they
engage in across the “qualifying pairs” that contribute to the User’s “market maker
score” under the Market-Making Services Agreements.8 The market maker is eligible to
receive zero trading fees or a rebate on eligible pairs. The “market maker score” is a
weekly ranking of the market makers in BAM Trading’s Market Maker Program that
takes into account each market maker’s daily liquidity provided across “qualifying pairs,”
assuming the market maker meets certain quoting requirements as specified in the
Agreement. Under the current fee structure for BAM Trading’s Market Maker Program,
following a short grace period for new market makers during which such new market
makers are unranked, the Negative Maker Trading Fees for market makers in BAM
Trading’s Market Maker Program are as follows:
● The market makers ranked in the top 25% of market makers in the Market Maker
Program are subject to -0.005% “maker” fees for all trading pairs (other than BTC
and ETH pairs).
5
See BTS00831310.
See BTS00831652-BTS00831855.
7
BAM Trading’s current tiered fee structure is available on BAM Trading’s website at:
https://www.binance.us/fee/schedule. For avoidance of doubt, market makers in BAM Trading’s Market
Maker Program currently qualify for the “VIP 9” trading fee tier, which is currently BAM Trading’s lowest
trading fee tier. That means that market makers in BAM Trading’s Market Maker Program pay 0.0375%
or 0% “taker” f ees depending on the trading pair they are trading.
8
“Taker” and “maker” activities were described in full detail in BAM Trading’s Response to SEC Request
No. 27 produced on June 11, 2021. See BTS00037800-BTS00037802.
6
FOIA CONFIDENTIAL TREATMENT REQUESTED BY BAM
BTS00831949
PDF Page 8
Case 1:23-cv-01599-ABJ Document 18-11 Filed 06/06/23 Page 7 of 21
CONFIDENTIAL TREATMENT REQUESTED
BY BAM TRADING SERVICES INC.
PURSUANT TO 17 C.F.R. § 200.83
● The market makers ranked in the next 25% (i.e., the top 25–50%) of market
makers in the Market Maker Program are subject to -0.002% “maker” fees for all
trading pairs (other than BTC and ETH pairs).
● All market makers ranked in the top 75% (i.e., the top 50–75%) of market makers
in the Market Maker Program are subject to 0% “maker” fees for all trading pairs.
● All remaining market makers (i.e., the bottom 25% of market makers in the
Market Maker Program) are subject to 0% “maker” fees for certain supported
trading pairs.9
SEC Request No. 23: Descriptions, schematics, or Documents sufficient to explain or
show the entire lifecycle of all types of orders and transactions submitted and/or
executed on BAM Trading’s platform, including but not limited to, the different
permutations of how buy and sell orders may interact and execute on the BAM Trading
Platform or in connection with the BAM Trading Platform.
Updated Response to SEC Request 23 Regarding the BAM Trading Platform
Trading Products
I.
Trading Digital Assets for Other Digital Assets or Fiat Currency on the BAM
Trading Platform10
Since its original Response to SEC Request Nos. 23 and 24 produced on June 11,
2021,11 BAM Trading has made certain changes to its over-the-counter trading (“OTC
Trading”) product and introduced a new trading product called “Convert.” BAM
Trading’s current OTC Trading and Convert trading products are described below. This
narrative does not alter descriptions of other trading products (e.g., OCBS) addressed in
prior narratives.
A.
OTC Trading
As described in its original Response to SEC Request Nos. 23 and 24 produced on
June 11, 2021,12 the OTC Trading product allows Users to engage in trades (generally
larger volume trades) in supported trading pairs as single block trades. In other words,
instead of a User submitting an order to buy or sell digital assets at a certain price
through the BAM Trading order book, and relying on the matching engine software to
find a corresponding order to complete the trade, Users are able to enter into bespoke
trades using the OTC Trading desk.
9
The supported trading pairs are currently: AVAX/USD, BCH/USD, DOGE/USD, ETH/USD, ETH/USDT,
LINK/USD, LTC/USD, and UNI/USD.
10
In its original Response to SEC Request Nos. 23 and 24 produced on June 11, 2021, this section
appeared as Section III. See BTS00037795-BTS00037800.
11
See BTS00037793-BTS00037800.
12
See BTS00037800.
FOIA CONFIDENTIAL TREATMENT REQUESTED BY BAM
BTS00831950
PDF Page 9
Case 1:23-cv-01599-ABJ Document 18-11 Filed 06/06/23 Page 8 of 21
CONFIDENTIAL TREATMENT REQUESTED
BY BAM TRADING SERVICES INC.
PURSUANT TO 17 C.F.R. § 200.83
The current OTC desk allows for automated trading whereby the User submits an order
and receives an offer that the User has a certain amount of time to accept or decline. 13
For orders over a certain size (a limit which varies depending upon the digital asset), the
OTC trade must be completed manually, and BAM Trading will interface between the
User and the liquidity provider to obtain a quote, and deliver an offer to the User. The
User will receive the lowest quoted price from the OTC Trading counterparties (with a
spread being collected by BAM Trading).
Currently, the sole counterparty for automated OTC Trading is Sigma Chain. Sigma
Chain became an OTC counterparty on February 23, 2022. For manual OTC trades,
GSR Markets Limited may also provide quotes and act as a counterparty where their
quote is most competitive. BAM Trading is in the process of onboarding additional OTC
Trading counterparties.
A screenshot of the OTC Trading portal, taken on December 23, 2022, is provided
below as Diagram 1:
B.
Convert
The Convert trading product provides Users with a simplified method for easily and
directly converting their digital assets into other assets across over 5,600 supported
trading pairs, instantly, with zero fees beyond a spread that BAM Trading collects as
part of the conversion rate. Similar to OTC, Convert operates separately from the spot
market and allows Users to place a trade by inputting the amount of digital assets that
the User would like to “convert” into a digital asset, or USD, and receive an of fer that the
User is free to accept or reject for a limited period of time. The Convert trading product
13
The prior OTC desk was not automated and Alameda was the sole counterparty to all OTC
transactions. As of November 9, 2022, Alameda Research Ltd ceased to be a User on the BAM Trading
Platf orm altogether.
FOIA CONFIDENTIAL TREATMENT REQUESTED BY BAM
BTS00831951
PDF Page 10
Case 1:23-cv-01599-ABJ Document 18-11 Filed 06/06/23 Page 9 of 21
CONFIDENTIAL TREATMENT REQUESTED
BY BAM TRADING SERVICES INC.
PURSUANT TO 17 C.F.R. § 200.83
has been available on the BAM Trading Platform since April 2021. Sigma Chain is the
sole liquidity provider for the Convert product.
BAM Trading is in the process of onboarding additional Convert counterparties.
A screenshot of the Convert trading product interface, taken on December 23, 2022, is
provided below as Diagram 2:
FOIA CONFIDENTIAL TREATMENT REQUESTED BY BAM
BTS00831952
PDF Page 11
Case 1:23-cv-01599-ABJ Document 18-11 Filed 06/06/23 Page 10 of 21
PDF Page 12
Case 1:23-cv-01599-ABJ Document 18-11 Filed 06/06/23 Page 11 of 21
PDF Page 13
Case 1:23-cv-01599-ABJ Document 18-11 Filed 06/06/23 Page 12 of 21
PDF Page 14
Case 1:23-cv-01599-ABJ Document 18-11 Filed 06/06/23 Page 13 of 21
PDF Page 15
Case 1:23-cv-01599-ABJ Document 18-11 Filed 06/06/23 Page 14 of 21
PDF Page 16
Case 1:23-cv-01599-ABJ Document 18-11 Filed 06/06/23 Page 15 of 21
PDF Page 17
Case 1:23-cv-01599-ABJ Document 18-11 Filed 06/06/23 Page 16 of 21
PDF Page 18
Case 1:23-cv-01599-ABJ Document 18-11 Filed 06/06/23 Page 17 of 21
PDF Page 19
Case 1:23-cv-01599-ABJ Document 18-11 Filed 06/06/23 Page 18 of 21
PDF Page 20
Case 1:23-cv-01599-ABJ Document 18-11 Filed 06/06/23 Page 19 of 21
PDF Page 21
Case 1:23-cv-01599-ABJ Document 18-11 Filed 06/06/23 Page 20 of 21
Grant P. Fondo
+1 650 752 3236
GFondo@goodwinlaw.com
Goodwin Procter LLP
601 Marshall Street
Redwood City, CA 94063
Meghan K. Spillane
+1 212 459 7193
MSpillane@goodwinlaw.com
The New York Times Building
620 Eighth Avenue
New York, NY 10018
goodwinlaw.com
CONFIDENTIAL TREATMENT REQUESTED
BY BAM TRADING SERVICES INC.
PURSUANT TO 17 C.F.R. § 200.83
January 27, 2023
BY FEDERAL EXPRESS AND EMAIL (RULE83CTRS@SEC.GOV)
Freedom of Information Act Officer
Office of Freedom of Information and Privacy Act Operations
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
100 F Street, NE
Mail Stop 2736
Washington, DC 20549
Re:
In the Matter of Binance.US (HO-13865)
Dear Sir/Madam:
The undersigned represent BAM Trading Services Inc. (“BAM Trading”) in the
above captioned matter. Pursuant to Securities and Exchange Commission Rule 83, 17
C.F.R. § 200.83, we formally request that the U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission (the “Commission”) afford confidential treatment to our January 27, 2023
letter to Kathleen Hitchins, Senior Counsel, Division of Enforcement, Bates-stamped
numbers BTS00831945 – BTS00831962. A copy of our letter to Ms. Hitchins is
enclosed in an envelope marked “FOIA Confidential Treatment Requested.” This
request also applies to any transcripts, notes, memoranda, or other materials of any sort
which are made by any employee of the Commission or any other governmental agency
and which incorporate, refer, or relate to the letter and enclosed document (collectively,
the letter dated January 27, 2023 and the documents enclosed therein, and any
materials referring to the letter and the contents of the enclosed document are referred
to herein as the “Confidential Materials”).
All of the Confidential Materials contain or constitute confidential information. We
therefore request and expect that all of the Confidential Materials will be kept in a nonpublic file and that access to the Confidential Materials by any third party not a member
of the Commission or its staff will be denied. Should the Commission receive any
FOIA CONFIDENTIAL TREATMENT REQUESTED BY BAM
BTS00831963
PDF Page 22
Case 1:23-cv-01599-ABJ Document 18-11 Filed 06/06/23 Page 21 of 21
FOIA Officer
January 27, 2023
Page 2
CONFIDENTIAL TREATMENT REQUESTED
BY BAM TRADING SERVICES INC.
PURSUANT TO 17 C.F.R. § 200.83
request for the Confidential Materials, whether pursuant to the Freedom of Information
Act, 5 U.S.C. § 522, or otherwise, we understand and expect that we will be given an
opportunity to object to such a disclosure. Moreover, should the Commission be
inclined to disclose the Confidential Materials to any third party not a member of the
Commission or its staff, it is our expectation and request that, in accordance with normal
Commission practice, we will be given ten business days’ advance notice of any such
intent by the Commission so that our client may pursue any available remedies. In that
event, we further request that you telephone undersigned counsel immediately in
addition to sending the required notice by mail.
On behalf of BAM Trading, we request an acknowledgement of receipt of this
written request that information not be disclosed under FOIA. Kindly acknowledge
receipt of this letter by signing and dating the enclosed copy and returning it to Meghan
K. Spillane in the enclosed self-addressed, stamped envelope.
Please contact any of us at the numbers provided above should you have any
questions or concerns about this request for confidential treatment.
Sincerely,
/s/ Grant P. Fondo
Grant P. Fondo
Meghan K. Spillane
cc:
Kathleen Hitchins, Senior Counsel, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
Colby Steele, Senior Counsel, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
Paul Kim, Assistant Director, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
Ann Rosenfield, Senior Counsel, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
Matthew Solomon, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP
Alexander Janghorbani, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP
Acknowledged by: ___________________________
Date: _____________________________________
FOIA CONFIDENTIAL TREATMENT REQUESTED BY BAM
BTS00831964
Back to 
