In a shocking turn of events, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao has agreed to step down from the crypto exchange and pleaded guilty to “violating US anti-money laundering requirements.”
The news is currently being priced into the crypto market, leading to extreme volatility in Bitcoin and altcoins, plus a lot of chatter on social media. Let’s take a closer look at how the market and speculators are reacting so far.
CZ resigns, pleads guilty, company has to charge $4 billion in fines
Earlier today, the US Department of Justice announced it would announce action against a cryptocurrency company. The most dominant cryptocurrency exchange, Binance, was targeted in the enforcement action and ordered to pay $4.3 billion in fines.
As a result, Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao resigned and pleaded guilty to US anti-money laundering charges. The crypto market fell in the early hours today in anticipation of the news.
However, once the Wall Street Journal revealed After making the information public, the Bitcoin price recovered, as did the altcoin market. Moments later, most of the upward price action was wiped out. The price is trading within a roughly 4% range today, but has crossed over that several times since the news, highlighting the powerful intraday volatility.
Bitcoin price is extra volatile on the news | BTCUSD on TradingView.com
The crypto market is reacting to the Binance news
As the market tries to price in what just happened, short-term volatility will continue. On X (formerly Twitter), remarkable figures speak out about CZ’s departure from Binance.
On-chain analyst and market commentator Will Clemente points out it’s “just a matter of weeks until Bitcoin ETF approval now” now that Binance is out of the way. The company has long been cited as one of the main reasons why the SEC has been hesitant to pull the trigger on approving a BTC ETF application.
Ryan Selkis, CEO of Messari Crypto calls it one of the “biggest catalysts we could have in crypto” between ETFs, crypto-friendly legislation, and this $4 billion settlement that helps crypto be considered a “real industry.”
Economist Alex Kruger reveals that the settlement ranks seventh in the history of financial compliance, alongside names like JP Morgan, Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo and several others.