World’s largest cryptocurrency exchange to pay over $4 billion in agreement with U.S., AP source says

17 views 5:11 pm 0 Comments November 21, 2023

According to an anonymous source familiar with the deal, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance, has reportedly agreed to pay more than $4 billion as part of a settlement with the U.S. government.


The development in the case against Binance was confirmed on the condition of anonymity ahead of an expected announcement. Bloomberg first reported the value.


It comes months after the company was accused of operating as an unregistered securities exchange and violating a slew of U.S. securities laws in a lawsuit from regulators.


Binance is a Cayman Islands limited liability company founded by CEO Changpeng Zhao. The charges were similar to practices uncovered after last year’s collapse of the second largest cryptocurrency exchange, FTX.


Zhao has also faced allegations of diverting customer funds, concealing that the company was commingling billions of dollars in investor assets and sending them to a third party that Zhao also owned.


When the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed suit against the company, Binance said it had been cooperating with the investigation but said the agency “chose to act unilaterally and litigate.”


Scandals and market meltdowns have marred the cryptocurrency industry. Sam Bankman-Fried, the 31-year-old founder of the failed cryptocurrency brokerage, was convicted earlier this month of fraud for stealing at least $10 billion from customers and investors.