Today, a report from the Wall Street Journal caused intense turmoil in the crypto market.
Reports indicate that Binance Holdings Ltd. and its CEO CZ agreed to plead guilty to criminal and civil charges under an agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice.
Bloomberg quoted the Wall Street Journal as reporting that CZ agreed to resign as CEO but would retain a majority stake in Binance. He will also plead guilty to anti-money laundering violations in a deal that also involves the U.S. Treasury Department and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Admission to the charges and CZs resignation were part of the settlement.
Under the settlement agreement, Binance will be allowed to continue operating, and the settlement also resolves a series of allegations of criminal misconduct including money laundering, bank fraud, and sanctions violations.
It is worth noting that this settlement has involved the CFTC.But the SEC is not involved. In response to this matter, Forbes sent a request for comment to Binance, the Department of Justice, the CFTC, and the SEC, but none of the above parties responded.
Citing people familiar with the matter, Reuters reported that U.S. regulators will impose a total fine of $4.368 billion on Binance, including $3.4 billion from the U.S. Treasury Department’s FINCEN (Financial Crimes Enforcement Agency) and $968 million from OFAC (Office of Foreign Assets Control).
If all this can be resolved, it could be seen as a positive for the industry. The situation at the Department of Justice hangs like a dark cloud over the entire industry, Bloomberg analyst James Seyffart said on the X platform.
The settlement by the worlds largest cryptocurrency exchange and its CEO comes as the crypto industry faces increasing scrutiny from the Justice Department, other government agencies and lawmakers.
BNB price fell following the report. Previously, the market once reported that the Ministry of Justice would reach a settlement with Binance, and the price of BNB reached its highest point in five months that day.
The U.S. Department of Justice will announce the settlement with Binance at a press conference at 4:00 am Beijing time today.OdailyWill follow up the report as soon as possible.
