Binance chief pleads guilty to US crimes

On November 1, 2023, Binance founder and billionaire, Changpeng Zhao, pleaded guilty to federal charges in a landmark effort to bring regulation to the chaotic crypto market. Binance has agreed to pay nearly $4 billion in fines and other penalties as part of a coordinated settlement across the federal authorities. 

As one of the crypto industry's most influential leaders, Zhao has agreed to pay $200 million in fines and resign as CEO of the exchange he co-founded. The company has admitted to breaking anti-money laundering, money-transmitting, and sanctions laws. 

The news came as a shock to Bitcoin casino games enthusiasts as Binance is among the top cryptocurrency exchanges used in popular casino sites such as Gamdom. According to US officials, this is the largest business resolution involving criminal charges against an executive. After a year-long investigation, authorities claim that Binance let cybercriminals operate freely on the platform, facilitating anything from child molestation and narcotics and terrorist financing. 

After amassing over $23 billion, Zhao then pleaded guilty to failing to keep an effective anti-money laundering programme in place. After the recent conviction of FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried, US authorities are hoping that the guilty plea from Binance and its CEO will send a clear message to bad actors within the crypto industry.

Join slot tournaments and win big at Gamdom

‘Binance became one of the largest crypto exchanges in the world and one of the reasons the company was able to achieve such status is because of the crimes they committed. Now, they are paying for one of the one of the largest corporate penalties in US history’, Attorney General Merrick Garland stated. 

Although Zhao could go to jail for up to 10 years, his actual sentence is expected to be much less severe. According to federal sentencing standards, the maximum possible punishment for Zhao is approximately 18 months.

Zhao accepted the government's request that he pay a $50 million fine as part of the plea bargain. Aside from his criminal fine, Zhao will also pay $150 million in civil penalties, according to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CTFC). Binance must then pay a $1.35 billion civil monetary penalty to the CFTC and settle another $1.35 billion in ill-gotten profits under the terms of the proposed consent order.

Test your luck with live games at Gamdom

Celsius to focus on BTC mining

A recent court filing revealed that Celsius, a well-known crypto loan company, announced its plan to shift its focus from mining and staking to Bitcoin (BTC) mining exclusively. To solidify the company’s decision, shares in a new publicly traded BTC mining firm called ‘Mining NewCo’ which is owned by Celsius, are now being registered.

Before Celsius, the reorganisation plan was previously assigned to Fahrenheit Holdings, a holding company that included Arrington Capital and U.S. Bitcoin Corp. The plan called for the creation of a new business with a primary focus on mining and staking, tentatively named NewCo and incorporated in Delaware.

Celsius still expects distributions to creditors to begin in January 2024, despite the change in strategy. As part of the revised strategy, the company will seek to register shares in the new Mining NewCo. 

Due to regulatory concerns, Celsius' estates will also keep certain assets that were originally slated for transfer to Fahrenheit Holdings. For the interest of the debtors, the Plan Administrator and Litigation Administrator will manage and liquidate these assets.

In the face of recent challenges in the crypto market, some optimistic cryptocurrency users see these changes and obstacles as a way for growth for a more robust and mature industry. These setbacks often serve as opportunities for innovations for improvement. 

Play slot games at Gamdom