Binance names Richard Teng CEO amid Changpeng Zhao’s forced departure

Binance has named its head of regional markets outside of the U.S., Richard Teng, as its new CEO. The change comes as founder and former CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao has resigned and plead guilty to charges levied against him by the U.S. Department of Justice. 

Today, I stepped down as CEO of Binance. Admittedly, it 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. This is best for our community, for Binance, and for myself.

Binance is no longer a baby. It is…

— CZ Binance (@cz_binance) November 21, 2023

As Cointelegraph reported earlier, CZ and Binance have agreed to a plea deal with the DOJ over alleged…

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Blackmail thwarts $90K ‘hostile governance attack’ on DAO

Blackmail was all that stood between the remaining funds in Indexed Finance’s crypto treasury and a devastating governance token attack.

When a watcher of the neglected Indexed Finance DAO noticed a malicious proposal meant to drain the DAO’s remaining $90,000, they demanded a share of the proposer’s profits to avoid outing the exploiter.

The proposer apparently declined, leading the blackmailer to alert former Indexed contributor Laurence Day, who then told his 30,000 followers on social media platform X of the attack. 

Hours later, the governance proposal was narrowly defeated.

Indexed Finance launched in 2020 as an index fund for crypto but has seen activity mostly end in the…

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Here are the details of Binance and Changpeng Zhao’s plea deal

The Department of Justice unsealed its indictment against both Binance and CEO Changpeng Zhao on Tuesday.

The indictment — originally filed on Nov. 14 — contained details matching prior Blockworks reporting, including that Binance was facing a fine of around $4 billion.

Later Tuesday, the heads of the DOJ, Treasury Department and the CFTC will hold a press conference on “significant” crypto enforcement actions, though the DOJ has not confirmed that it will specifically be about Binance.

In follow-up documents, the DOJ detailed the plea deal taken by both Binance and Zhao.

Zhao’s plea agreement

As first reported by the Wall Street Journal, Zhao has agreed to step down as chief…

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Crypto assets dip as Binance settlement unfolds — but what’s next?

Crypto asset prices dipped amid developments around a regulatory settlement between the US government and Binance — but various industry watchers believe the scenario is ultimately a boon for the space. 

Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao plans to step down and plead guilty to anti-money laundering violations as part of a multi-billion dollar settlement with US regulators, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.

Read more: DOJ alleges AML, sanctions violations against Binance, CEO Changpeng Zhao in unsealed indictment

The report dropped just hours ahead of a Department of Justice press conference scheduled for 3 pm related to “significant” crypto enforcement actions. Set to appear are…

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DOJ alleges AML, sanctions violations against Binance, CEO Changpeng Zhao in unsealed indictment

The Department of Justice unsealed its indictment against Binance on Tuesday.

The indictment, originally filed on Nov. 14, was filed in the Western district of Washington.

The US accused Binance and Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao of violating the Bank Secrecy Act, alleging that the violations go back as far as 2017. The indictment was unsealed ahead of an expected settlement announcement to be led by the US Department of Justice. 

A press conference is scheduled for 3 pm ET. 

The world’s largest crypto exchange also failed to “maintain an effective” anti-money laundering program and knowingly violated economic sanctions. 

The indictment names both Binance and Zhao, and also alludes…

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Are Mining Pools Becoming A Problem?

Bitcoin miners provide a valuable service to the ecosystem. In exchange for the work they do securing the network, they are rewarded by the same network they protect. This sound and elegant design by Satoshi is surely one of the most remarkable aspects of Bitcoin.

What is increasingly being forgotten, however, is that there is more to mining than merely hashing.

A person engaging in the entire process must run a node to get reliably updated on the most recent state of the blockchain, then begin construction of a new block. This involves verifying the validity of the previous block, discovering unconfirmed transactions and usually selecting the most lucrative of them, constructing a…

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World's Largest Bitcoin, Crypto Exchange Binance Founder CZ To Resign As CEO, Plead Guilty

The CEO of Binance, Changpeng Zhao, commonly known as CZ, is set to step down from his role from the company as he plead guilty to money laundering violations, according to the Wall Street Journal. Binance, as a company, will also plead guilty and pay $4.3 billion fine.

This news arrives in the wake of the conclusion of a criminal investigation around the cryptocurrency exchange. The investigation centered on alleged regulatory breaches and illicit activities within Binance. And now, the finale of this probe seems to have prompted a leadership transition.

The investigation’s official outcome is happening today, as earlier this morning Bloomberg reported that the U.S. Department of Justice…

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US Justice Department seizes 9M USDT amid $225M illicit funds frozen by Tether

The United States Department of Justice announced it had seized roughly $9 million worth of Tether (USDT) following the stablecoin issuer freezing funds connected to a criminal organization responsible for romance scams.

In a Nov. 21 announcement, the Justice Department said the seized funds came from “scammers who stole millions from victims across the United States” and were presumably part of Tether’s efforts to freeze $225 million worth of USDT in “external self-custodied wallets” connected to the scam. The funds were allegedly tied to an organization responsible for “pig butchering” romance scams, in which bad actors attempt to develop an online relationship with…

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Binance’s CZ pleads guilty to violating anti-money laundering requirements—WSJ

Binance founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao has agreed to step down as CEO of the crypto exchange as the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) prepares to announce that it’s secured a $4.3 billion settlement with the company.

According to The Wall Street Journal, CZ intends to plead guilty to several charges levied by the DOJ. He’s scheduled to appear in a federal court in Seattle Tuesday afternoon, where he will enter his plea, the Journal said. The report also indicates that he will plead guilty to “one criminal charge.” 

Although the deal would allow CZ to retain his majority stake in Binance, he won’t be allowed to hold an executive position at the company. 

The Wall Street Journal also reports…

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Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao to step down: WSJ

Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao reportedly plans to step down, according to the Wall Street Journal.

In addition to leaving his post as the world’s largest crypto exchange’s CEO, Zhao also reportedly intends to plead guilty to anti-money laundering violations as part of a multi-billion dollar settlement with US regulators.

The report says that Zhao plans to enter the guilty plea in a Seattle court Tuesday afternoon. The news comes after the Department of Justice announced a press conference at 3 pm on Tuesday, 

The DOJ itself has not confirmed that the press conference is about Binance specifically, but the media advisory said that it will be about “significant” crypto enforcement…

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