The U.S. Department of Justice announced a settlement with Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, and its founder, Changpeng Zhao, ending a five-year investigation and lawsuit.
Under the settlement agreement, Binance and Changpeng Zhao pleaded guilty to violating U.S. anti-money laundering laws, bank secrecy laws, and sanctions laws, agreeing to pay 43US$6.8 billion in fines and acceptance of the supervision of its operations by a designated supervisory party.
Changpeng Zhao also agreed to step down as Binance's CEO and not participate in any management activities of Binance for the next three years.
Mr. Zhao will also face up to 18 months in prison, but prosecutors have left open the possibility of demanding harsher punishments.
This is one of the largest fines ever issued to a financial institution in the history of the United States and the biggest blow to the cryptocurrency industry.
However, for Changpeng Zhao himself, this settlement did not affect his wealth status, but instead made him the richest man in the crypto world.
According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Changpeng Zhao's net worth increased by $25 billion in 2023 to $23 billion, surpassing Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates to rank 16th in the world.
Changpeng Zhao's wealth growth is mainly due to the increase in his holdings of BNB, the token of the Binance platform, which has grown by nearly 300% in 2023, from $37 at the beginning of the year to $145 at the end of the year, with a market value of $22 billion.
Changpeng Zhao's net worth is more than five times the amount that the United States fined him and Binance, and 4,600 times the $50 million personal fine he paid.
Changpeng Zhao said on social media that he regretted his mistake but was also optimistic about Binance's future, saying that he will continue to contribute to the development and innovation of the cryptocurrency industry. He will use his wealth and influence to support some potential crypto projects and provide more value and services to the crypto community.
Changpeng Zhao's resignation and guilty plea have also sparked concern and discussion in the cryptocurrency industry, which some believe is a sign that the cryptocurrency industry has entered a mature stage and an opportunity for cryptocurrency to integrate with the traditional financial system.
Others believe that this is a US crackdown and intervention in the cryptocurrency industry, a threat and challenge to the innovation and freedom of cryptocurrency.
In any case, the reconciliation between Changpeng Zhao and Binance has given us some food for thought, how to balance the innovation and regulation of cryptocurrencies, how to protect users and investors of cryptocurrencies, and how to promote the popularity and development of cryptocurrencies.