The crypto community on social media has greeted the news of the deal between Binance, CZ and the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) mostly positively, hoping it removes one of the last remaining obstacles before the long-awaited approval of a spot Bitcoin ETF.
The $4.3 billion settlement between the U.S. and the world’s largest crypto exchange, Binance, for violating U.S. anti-money laundering laws includes a plea deal whereby the former CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, has agreed to step down as the CEO of the exchange.
The news of the deal and CEO’s departure led to a market correction that saw some $175 million worth of leveraged crypto positions liquidated, while close to $1 billion in crypto assets flowed out of the crypto exchange.
Over 1 billion dollars of outflows out of @Binance in the last 24 hours pic.twitter.com/nNMa10gtfg
— Pledditor (@Pledditor) November 22, 2023
Apart from a slight market correction, most in the crypto community saw the settlement with the DOJ and the plea deal for CZ as a big win for the exchange and the crypto industry. Many critics had previously claimed that the U.S.’s pursuit of Binance would end the crypto exchange’s rein.
This is the greatest victory of CZ’s life.
Absolute 3D chessmaster.
From day 1, the DOJ & SEC have always been Binance’s biggest risk. CZ’s greatest threat. The dragon on the horizon.
Now, after years of uncertainty, the DOJ has finally been neutralized. The dragon is slayed.…
— Cole Garner (@ColeGarnersTake) November 22, 2023
Many others called Binance’s settlement with the DOJ the last step before the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission approves a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF). On the whole, the crypto community sees the deal as a win-win scenario for the crypto ecosystem and a bullish catalyst for the next bull run.
Sweet baby Jesus this is bullish! Binance settling with the DOJ removes the bearish scenario. I think the Bitcoin Spot ETF approvals are around the corner.
When we start pumping and euphoria returns, don’t forget to take profits! https://t.co/LCokdV7Y7E
— Tony Edward (Thinking Crypto Podcast) (@ThinkingCrypto1) November 21, 2023
Not everyone in the crypto community was as bullish on the Binance-DOJ settlement. Some commented that the crypto community is still awaiting the action from the Securities and Exchange Commission and that the SEC is likely to be a harder battle, as it refuses to settle with Binance along with other agencies.
Seeing a ton of bull posts on my timeline.
I don’t think people understand the situation…
It’s obvious that Binance would settle & pay a large fine. But this doesn’t mean it’s all sunshine going forward. Remember that SEC / DOJ had all firepower focused on Binance, now that… pic.twitter.com/cgpDElDqRR
— ImNotTheWolf (@ImNotTheWolf) November 22, 2023
However, the SEC lawsuit is a civil one, and analysts believe that the DOJ settlement means that Binance and the crypto industry have removed the biggest obstacle to the launch of a bull market.
A few others compared Binance’s settlement to the BitMEX exchange settlement, in which the then-CEO Arthur Hayes pleaded guilty to violating anti-money-laundering laws and stepped down as the CEO. He was later sentenced to two years probation, avoiding a possible prison term of six to 12 months.
