Binance forgot to stick to CZ’s principles — now it owes billions
Earlier this week, former Binance chief Changpeng Zhao (CZ) pleaded guilty in a Seattle court to a number of felony charges related to violations of the Bank Secrecy Act, failure to register as a money services business, and failure to maintain an effective anti-money laundering program. As part of CZ’s plea, he has agreed to step down as the exchange’s CEO, pay a $50 million fine, and will be formally sentenced next year. In addition, Binance itself has been ordered to pay a $4.3 billion fine, and the company’s former chief compliance officer Samuel Lim has agreed to pay $1.5 million in civil penalties to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Binance will also be watched by “an independent compliance monitor.” However, all of this could seemingly have been avoided if only Binance and its people had adhered to CZ’s Principles, the former chief’s well-documented recipe for business success . Read more: Binance bitcoin reserves drop as CZ faces US detainment CZ publ...