Binance CEO Becomes Latest Kingpin to Fall With Guilty Plea
Just weeks after former crypto billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried was convicted on seven counts, another titan of the industry is losing his throne.
Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao is slated to plead guilty on Tuesday to “violating and causing a financial institution to violate” the Bank Secrecy Act, which requires financial institutions to help weed out money laundering, according to documents filed in Seattle federal court. Zhao, known as CZ, is also expected to pay a $50 million fine. It wasn’t immediately clear what sentence he may face.
According to The Wall Street Journal, which first reported the news, Zhao will cede his position as chief executive but will get to keep his majority stake in the business.