Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, also known as “CZ,” was sentenced earlier this year to four months in prison for permitting extensive money laundering on the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange.
In November 2023, Binance and Zhao, its then-CEO, admitted guilt to money laundering charges for allowing customers in other countries to conduct transactions that violated US sanctions. As part of the settlement, Binance agreed to pay $4.3 billion in fines, while Zhao consented to a $50 million fine and stepped down from his position.
Richard Teng, Binance’s regional director markets head and a former Abu Dhabi regulator, has assumed the role of CEO. He is implementing significant changes at the firm, such as searching for a headquarters location, shifting from Binance’s previous stance that a decentralized company does not require an office. This move could indicate to authorities that Binance is restructuring itself post-Zhao’s exit.
Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon, once prominent in the crypto world, is currently awaiting extradition to the U.S. or South Korea, where he could face charges.
Terraform Labs collapsed in 2022, greatly affecting the cryptocurrency market. Terraform’s stablecoin, TerraUSD (UST), was linked to the cryptocurrency Terra (LUNA), with $1 UST equivalent to $1 USD of Luna. However, in May 2022, the value of LUNA crashed from over $120 per coin to nearly zero, causing a loss of over $50 billion in UST/LUNA market capitalization and triggering a wider crypto market crash that erased $400 billion in value.
The SEC filed charges against Terraform and Kwon for the misleading promotion and sale of crypto tokens, including the algorithmic stablecoin TerraUSD (UST).
Kwon was arrested in March 2023 for forging travel documents while attempting to leave Montenegro. Earlier this year, he agreed to pay $4.47 billion to settle a civil lawsuit filed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.