Binance, the largest crypto exchange in the world, must pay $4.3 billion in penalties in a settlement previously announced. According to multiple reports, the judge handling the case approved the guilty plea and the penalty. The settlement was revealed last November and included the exit of founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ).
The charges included Binance flouting money laundering law and sanctions violations. Said to be the largest penalty of its kind ever, it included penalties assessed by the US Department of Treasury, including FinCEN and OFAC, along with a civil penalty by the CFTC.
As for CZ, Reuters reports that the Binance founder has been free in the US on a $175 million bond. Binance released a statement accepting responsibility, noting it had updated its operations to guard against AML/CFT/KYC issues.
While the fine is hefty and CZ is no longer CEO of Binance, the company continues to operate – albeit with new executives at the helm.
A recent blog post by the new Interim CEO of Binance.US, Norman Reed, slammed the US Securities and Exchange Commission as trying to kill crypto.
Norman claimed:
“The SEC is attempting a landgrab of jurisdiction over digital assets when no such jurisdiction has been authorized by Congress or the courts. Instead of working with Congress and its sister agencies to put in place a comprehensive regulatory scheme through adoption of rules after cost-benefit analysis and public comments, the SEC is bringing one-off enforcement cases to mark its territory at tremendous cost to the US economy and the SEC’s credibility. This is not the way the SEC should be addressing new, innovative financial instruments and technologies.”
Norman added he would “continue the fight,” standing up to the overreach.