Canadian Changpeng Zhao, the chief executive officer (CEO) of cryptocurrency exchange Binance, has pled guilty to charges of money laundering and other U.S. securities violations.
Zhao, who is known by his initials “CZ,” also announced that he is stepping down from running Binance, and that he has agreed to pay $4.3 billion in fines for his infractions.
Binance was charged by U.S. market regulators with money laundering, conspiracy to conduct an unlicensed money transmitting business, and U.S. sanctions violations.
CZ’s guilty plea is the second major crypto conviction in the U.S. in the past month after former FTX crypto exchange CEO Sam Bankman-Fried was convicted on seven counts of fraud.
U.S. prosecutors said that CZ violated the U.S. Bank Secrecy Act and engaged in a “deliberate and calculated” effort to profit without the required controls or operating registrations.
In a social media post, Zhao said that his decision to step down from Binance “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…”
Richard Teng, former head of regional markets at Binance, was named the crypto exchange’s new CEO. Binance remains the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world.
The settlement agreement reached with prosecutors subjects Binance to increased scrutiny for five years through a third-party monitor.
CZ was raised in Vancouver, British Columbia and holds a Bachelor of Science degree from McGill University in Montreal. The Bloomberg Billionaires Index estimates his current net worth at $23 billion U.S.
Binance is a privately held company. Its stock does not trade on a public exchange.
