Binance to pay $4.3 billion fine in US, CEO Zhao to step down
cryptocurrency exchange Binance is expected to pay fines totaling $4.3 billion and its chief is planning to step down, a US media report said Tuesday. In a deal with US authorities that could allow the company to keep running, Binance chief executive Changpeng Zhao intends to plead guilty to violating US anti-money laundering rules and leave his position, the Wall Street Journal reported citing unnamed sources.
The agreement would end investigations into Binance, which was created in 2017 and cornered much of the crypto-trading market, turning Zhao into a billionaire.
Zhao, who has often been presented as the archrival of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, was due in court Tuesday to enter his plea, the Wall Street Journal report added. The Justice Department declined to comment and Binance did not respond to media queries.
The $4.3 billion amount includes sums to address a civil lawsuit filed by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and claims leveled by the Treasury Department, the report said.
