Crypto markets were in no-man’s land on Tuesday as traders digested news of Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao’s guilty plea in a U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) criminal investigation into the world’s largest crypto exchange and its founder.
Earlier today, Unchained reported that Binance had agreed to pay a record $4.3 billion in penalties to U.S. authorities, and Zhao had announced he would be stepping down from Binance after pleading guilty to violating the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA).
Today, I stepped down as CEO of Binance. Admittedly, it was not easy to let go emotionally. But I know it is the right thing to do. I made mistakes, and I must take responsibility. This is best for our community, for Binance, and for myself.
Binance is no longer a baby. It is…
— CZ 🔶 BNB (@cz_binance) November 21, 2023
The former Binance CEO has now been released from custody on a $175 million personal recognizance bond.
A court filing indicates that Zhao himself is posting $15 million that he holds in a trust in law firm Davis Wright Tremaine, outside of the bond amount, and has agreed to forfeit this amount if he violates the terms of his release.
Those terms prohibit him from breaking the law and witness tampering, but allow him to leave the U.S. so long as he returns two weeks before his sentencing date, which has been scheduled for Feb. 23, 2024.
U.S. prosecutors at the DOJ are contesting the terms of the order that allow him to leave, according to statements made in a court hearing on Tuesday. Zhao has agreed to remain in the U.S. until Nov. 27 while his lawyers and the DOJ prosecutors work out the details.
Meanwhile, news of the lawsuit has spooked at least some of Binance’s customers, who have spent the better part of the last day withdrawing their assets from the exchange. Data from DeFiLlama shows that Binance has seen $943 million outflows over the last 24 hours.
