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- 1 Binance and Changpeng Zhao pleaded guilty for money laundering and two other charges.
- 2 The court ordered the firm to pay $4.3 Billion as fine and Zhao to pay a $50 Million fine.
- 3 Native token of bankrupt FTX, Binance’s erstwhile rival, shot up 35%.
FTT token price shot up over the past few days following the allegations of money laundering on Binance and its CEO.
FTX token topped the intraday gainers list as the price grew over 35%. When writing, it was trading at $3.96 with a 24 hour trading volume of $386,843,617 (a 521.28% surge).
The market capitalization of the token grew 31% in the past 24 hours. Market analysts claim that there are possibilities that FTT token might surge further as the bulls are constantly trying to back the token and hold its price to higher levels.
Last year, just before the FTX collapse, FTT was trading at around $200, and post crash, the token plummeted below the $5 mark. In case the Binance case concludes with clear incrimination, the market could witness another dark spell.
As per the reports, Binance Holdings Ltd and its chief executive officer Changpeng Zhao pleaded guilty for breaching the United States money laundering laws.
Binance is supposed to pay $4.3 Billion as fine and Zhao is supposed to pay a $50 Million as fine under a deal as per which he has to resign from his position in the company.
Zhao pleaded guilty on November 21, 2023 on breaching the Bank Secrecy Act in the Federal court of Seattle. The exchange was investigated jointly by the United States Department of Justice (DOJ), Treasury Department and the Commodity Futures Trading Commision (CFTC).
During the hearing in federal court Binance admitted that it has allowed Hamsa and several other terrorist organisations to use their platform to process transactions for illicit activities.
Binance is charged with three allegations including money laundering, operating an unlicensed money transmitting business and violating US sanctions. According to the court filing the culprit exchange is ordered to pay a $1.8 Billion criminal fine and $2.5 Billion Forfeiting.
The CEO of Binance faces as many as 10 years in jail, however there are expectations that the duration might become 18 months under a plea deal that saved him from harsh penalties that other crypto culprits faced.
It is important to note that the final sentence of Zhao will be decided by the Justice department of the United States. Treasury Department highlights that Binance violated the rules and failed to prevent and report suspicious transactions linked to terror groups.
The courts filing also states that the FTX destroyer has allowed over 1 Million crypto valued for $898 Million on its ecosystem between its consumers in the U.S and Iran. Since the beginning of the Hamas and Israel war Iran has been in limelight as majority of analysts claim that the war is funded by Iran in cryptocurrencies.
Binance (BNB) Coin Sees Significant Drop
BNB coin price fell over 8% in the past 24 hours and trading volume surged more than 47% after news of the fine broke.
Nansen, a blockchain analysis firm posted on ‘X’ that over the past few hours, on Ethereum, Binance has had a $17 Million negative net flow which means more number of users are leaving the platform compared to the number of those joining.
Total holdings value has increased over the past 12 hours from $64.6B to $65.2B. This takes into account outflows and changes in prices over the past 12 hours.
Disclaimer
The views and opinions stated by the author or any people named in this article are for informational ideas only and do not establish financial, investment, or other advice. Investing in or trading crypto or stock comes with a risk of financial loss.
With a background in journalism, Ritika Sharma has worked with many reputed media firms focusing on general news such as politics and crime. She joined The Coin Republic as a reporter for crypto, and found a great passion for cryptocurrency, Web3, NFTs and other digital assets. She spends a lot of time researching and delving deeper into these concepts around the clock, and is a strong advocate for women in STEM.
