Binance’s CZ to reportedly step down as CEO and plead guilty

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Posted: November 21, 2023

• Binacne’s CEO is reportedly set to resign from his position as part of a deal with the US DoJ
• The settlement deal would also see both the executive and the exchange plead guilty to criminal charges today

The United States Department of Justice announcement scheduled to be released today has stirred up the crypto market. According to reports, the announcement is going to be related to the criminal case against the largest crypto exchange – Binance and its CEO – Changpeng Zhao. Reports also claimed that the US regulatory authority sought over $4 billion from the exchange to settle the case.

However, this does not seem to be the only condition for dropping the criminal lawsuit. The authorities also reportedly sought Zhao’s resignation from the Chief Executive Officer position. And, according to the latest development, Zhao has agreed to step down from the executive position, Wall Street Journal reports.

Additionally, Zhao will plead guilty to money laundering violations and will appear before the Seattle court today. The crypto exchange is also said to follow suit and would subsequently pay a $4.3 billion fine.

Binance’s token reacts to the latest developments

Notably, the latest developments surrounding Binance and its top executive CZ seem to start having an impact on the price of BNB. According to CoinMarketCap, the cryptocurrency was trading at $250.14 and recorded a downward slide of over 4% in the past hour. However, the coin is still in green in the past 7-day chart with a gain of over 2 percent recorded. The coin had a market cap of over $37 billion and still stood its ground in the fourth position.

Notably, this settlement deal will not bring an end to the legal woes of the crypto exchange. The firm still faces two active lawsuits from two other US regulators, the Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC) and the Commodity and Future Trading Commission (CFTC). While some reports claim that the settlement deal would bring an end to CFTC’s case, the SEC’s lawsuit would still hand above the firm’s head.