Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao has agreed to step down from his role at the world’s largest crypto exchange as part of a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice.
He also plans to plead guilty to violating criminal U.S. anti-money-laundering requirements that would potentially allow the exchange to keep operating, people familiar with the matter have told Bloomberg.
The DOJ said earlier today that it will hold a press conference at 3 p.m. ET to provide further details about the crypto enforcement action. People familiar with the DOJ’s plans have said that it will be related to the Binance settlement. Yesterday, sources told Bloomberg that the DOJ is seeking a $4 billion settlement from Binance.
Crypto markets wobbled on the initial announcement of a DOJ press conference this morning, but have since rebounded. Bitcoin is down 0.6% in the past day, having almost recouped the losses it initially saw on Tuesday. Ethereum has meanwhile recovered slightly and is now trading 2.4% lower than it was yesterday.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
Stay on top of crypto news, get daily updates in your inbox.
Source: https://decrypt.co/206873/binance-ceo-changpeng-zhao-step-down-plead-guilty
