THE CRYPTO COMMUNITY REACTS TO CZ STEPPING DOWN – HE’S A LEGEND

It is confirmed!! CZ has stepped down as the CEO of Binance with a settlement of more than $4 billion to the United States Department of Justice (DOJ).

CZ’s statement on X tells of a leader who did all he could and is going home to rest – “I will take a break first. I have not had a single day of real (phone off) break for the last 6 and half years.”

Earlier today, Bloomberg published a report that Changpeng Zhao, alias CZ, the CEO of Binance, was looking to settle with the United States DOJ for $4 billion. Well, it is true. The US DOJ charged Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, for violating sanctions and money-transmitting laws.

Binance has agreed to pay $4.3 billion to settle the accusations, resulting in “one of the largest penalties” the United States has ever received from a corporate defendant. Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, the company’s founder and CEO, pled guilty to his own charges at an arraignment in Seattle and agreed to pay a $50 million fine.

CZ’s crypto era comes to an end

A court document that was unsealed on Tuesday alleges that Binance was found guilty of operating an unauthorized money-transmitting business, failing to maintain an effective anti-money laundering program, and violating sanctions law.

Another filing states that CZ entered a guilty plea for violating the Bank Secrecy Act and for causing a financial institution to violate the BSA. His sanction will also be deducted from the amount he owes the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, according to a filing with the U.S. Department of Justice.

CZ took to his X page to notify his 8.7 million followers that his era has come to an end. His statements begin as: 

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.