Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao has reportedly pleaded guilty to violating US anti-money laundering requirements and will step down from his role at the exchange, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Reports are emerging that Binance will also plead guilty to money laundering violations, and CZ will appear in court in Seattle today. At the time of writing, no updates from the SEC have been filed with the courts regarding the case against Binance.
BNB price rockers
The Binance-backed BNB token rose to a five-month high, reaching nearly $270 before quickly falling to $240 in 30 minutes, according to Crypto Slates facts.
The price development follows reports of an upcoming settlement announcement by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) regarding the cryptocurrency exchange today, November 21.
According to a statement released earlier today, key US government officials including Attorney General Merrick Garland, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chairman Rostin Behnam will hold a press conference address. later today.
The officials will announce “separate but related cryptocurrency enforcement actions” at the conference, including a settlement with Binance and Bloomberg reported.
In response to the news, BNB’s price rose to $269.92 on the 1-hour candle, marking the highest level since June, coinciding with legal action from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for alleged violations of federal securities laws by the Changpeng Zhao-led crypto company. .
Despite the recent price surge, BNB’s value was 61% below the all-time high of $686 recorded during the 2021 crypto market bull run. The price has since recovered.
On November 20 CryptoSlate reported that the DOJ was seeking a settlement from Binance of more than $4 billion to resolve allegations of criminal activity, including money laundering, bank fraud and sanctions violations. Additionally, the report hinted at the possibility that CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao could face criminal charges.
Binance is the largest crypto exchange in terms of trading volume and has more than 50% of the market, according to CCData.
However, the collapse of the FTX last year brought renewed attention to the exchange as regulatory battles came to the fore in multiple jurisdictions, including Britain, Nigeria and several European countries.
Blockchain analytical Kaiko noted that these developments had affected the company’s average daily trading volume, which had fallen below $10 billion per day over the past year.
Binance did not immediately respond Crypto Slates request for comment.
At the time of writing, BNB is ranked number 4 in terms of market capitalization and so is the BNB price down 7.14% in the last 24 hours. BNB has a market capitalization of $36.32 billion with a 24-hour trading volume of $2.17 billion. More information about BNB ›
BNBUSD chart by TradingView
Market summary
At the time of writing, the global cryptocurrency market is valued at $1.38 trillion with a 24 hour volume of $60.49 billion. Bitcoin’s dominance currently stands at 52.14%. Learn more >