The court released the former CEO of the Binance cryptocurrency exchange Changpeng Zhao (CZ) from custody on bail of $175 million, CoinDesk reports, citing court documents.
Sentencing is scheduled for February 23, 2024.
In addition to the bail, Zhao must place $15 million in a trust account with the law firm Davis Wright Tremaine, which will be forfeited if he violates the conditions of his release. He also needs two guarantors who will contribute $250,000 and $100,000.
Conditions of his release allow CZ to leave the United States, but he must return to the country 14 days before sentencing. Prosecutors intend to appeal the decision.
Zhao previously pleaded guilty to violating the Bank Secrecy Act on charges from the US Department of Justice and agreed to resign as CEO of Binance.
As part of the settlement, the exchange will make a “complete exit” from the United States, and will also pay $3.4 billion to FinCEN and $968 million to OFAC. In this case, CZ must personally pay a fine of $50 million.
The new CEO of Binance will be Regional Markets Head Richard Teng.
Over the past day, BNB quotes fell by 9.2%, to $235. The asset's capitalization dropped from $40 billion to $36 billion, according to CoinGecko.
Binance exchange BNB/USDT hourly chart. Data: TradingView.
According to DeFi Llama, the total value of assets locked on Binance has dropped by $943 million over the past 24 hours.
Let's remember that on June 5, the SEC filed a lawsuit against Binance and Zhao, bringing forward 13 charges, including the sale of unregistered securities. On June 6, the regulator sent a request to freeze the digital assets of the American division of the exchange.
On June 9, users lost the ability to deposit dollars, prompting sales from those wanting to withdraw funds in fiat. Against this background, a discount has formed on the platform in Bitcoin quotes paired with the dollar - the figure reached ~$2200 (7.3%).
On June 17, the SEC and Binance entered into an agreement regarding client funds in the United States. The exchange resumed the withdrawal of assets, but the company warned that the situation could change.
