Binance chief Changpeng Zhao to plead guilty to money laundering

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Changpeng Zhao, founder of world’s largest crypto exchange, agreed to plead guilty to federal money laundering charges and step down as chief executive of Binance, which will pay a fine totaling billions of dollars, according to court documents.

As part of the plea agreement, Zhao is barred from working with the exchange for three years, according to a court filing dated Nov. 20. He is expected to appear in federal Seattle court on Tuesday and will be fined $50 million.

The deal ends the Department of Justice’s three-year investigation of Binance and comes months after the firm was accused by regulators of operating as an unregistered securities exchange.

Zhao’s departure marks the end of an era for one of the crypto industry’s longest standing titans, who for years sparred with regulators en route to Binance becoming the largest crypto exchange in the world.

Zhao was also an original investor in FTX, the beleaguered crypto exchange founded by Sam Bankman-Fried, who was convicted at trial of seven counts of fraud and money laundering earlier this month.

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