What’s Going on with Binance & Why Did CEO Changpeng Zhao Stepped Down?

At Bookmakers Review, we like to keep readers abreast with the changing world of cryptocurrency and this last week has seen some shocking developments at Binance as their CEO Changpeng Zhao was forced to step down as part of a plea deal with American Law Enforcement.

Some sites are already betting on how this will affect Binance as a company. If you’re curious about entering the game with your crypto, just make sure you’re using the best sites for it.

What Is Going On With Binance?

Violations involving anti-money laundering procedures at Binance were found by the American Department of Justice after yearslong inquiries. The exchange was proven to have skirted those stipulated regulations because of their trading volume and the investigations concluded that cryptocurrency’s largest exchange, Binance, had indeed breached those requirements.

Prosecutors had accused Binance of which Zhao is the owner, of facilitating transactions with groups that had already been sanctioned and Changpeng Zhao appeared before the Seattle Federal Court a couple of weeks ago entering a guilty plea to the charges.

Changpeng Zhao’s then took to “X” formerly known as Twitter for his announcement.

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

After handing over day to day running of the company to Richard Teng, he said:

“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 time for me to let it walk and run. I know Binance will continue to grow and excel with the deep bench it has.”

Why Did Changpeng Zhao Step Down at Binance?

Basically, the bottom line for Binance to continue trading as the leading digital trading exchange of crypto, is that Changpeng must step down. The punishment does not end there, as the Exchange will pay a fine/settlement of $ 4.3 billion to the Treasury, as well as adhering to compliance and monitoring for the next five years. 

A further press statement released by Binance went on to say, “When Binance first launched, it did not have compliance controls adequate for the company that it was quickly becoming, and it should have.”

Binance Will Carry On Trading Cryptocurrency

There is a unique and convoluted and almost copacetic nature with these charges that Binance has been found guilty of. The Department of Justice outlined the reasons why the exchange will carry on, when Merrick Garland, the US Attorney General, said during a press conference “Because of the crimes committed, Binance became the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world,”, while adding that “Now, Binance has paid one of the largest corporate penalties in US history.”

In previous Bookmakers Review articles, we discussed the pending case and charges that hung over the exchange and one of the main problems is their security measures were too lax and found to be heavily exploited by OCGs (Organized Crime Groups) for their nefarious money-laundering activities.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told a press conference, “Binance turned a blind eye to its legal obligations in the pursuit of profit. Its wilful failures allowed money to flow to terrorists, cybercriminals, and child abusers through its platform,”

Bookmakers Review Conclusion – Reading Between the Lines

Here at Bookmakers Review, we believe it is up to experienced and prospective users of cryptocurrency to read between the lines of What’s Going on with Binance & Why Did CEO Changpeng Zhao Stepped Down?

Initially, we need to keep perspective on the fact that the regulation of the cryptocurrency world is still in its infancy and from time to time will struggle to keep up with the unrelenting progress within the decentralized monetary industry.

With that in mind, the Department of Justice verdict has allowed the Binance operation to continue with the obvious proviso that Changpeng Zhao steps down as CEO.

The fact that Changpeng Zhao remains the majority shareholder in the Exchange suggests that the Department of Justice believes, or has no choice but to believe, that Binance will improve its security measures markedly.

The problem for the Treasury is that trillions of dollars are held in the platform for trusted users making anything more penal untenable or unthinkable and, like us users, they must trust the correct measures will come into force.

It appears Law Enforcement has attempted to ensure that the required improvements are made by Binance with their five-year monitoring plan that has been imposed on the company.

You cannot say anything is 100%, but at Bookmakers Review, we believe everything will continue fine at Binance and the recent developments are for the betterment of the industry.