The video by Wall Street Journal titled “How Binance Melted Down in Less Than a Year | WSJ What Went Wrong” details the rapid ascent and subsequent legal troubles of Binance, a leading global cryptocurrency exchange. It discusses how the company, once lauded for its trade volume, skirted regulations leading to its eventual legal issues. Binance and its founder, Changpeng Zhao, also known as CZ, are now facing hefty fines and legal actions by U.S. authorities. Despite its challenges, Binance is taking steps to comply with regulations, with CZ stepping down as CEO and Richard Tang taking over the role.
- Binance’s founder CZ promised to embrace global regulations and run a clean business.
- In 2021, Binance’s monthly trade volume exceeded that of the next four largest exchanges combined.
- The company faced regulatory issues from the beginning, moving from China to Japan, and then becoming elusive about its headquarters.
- Binance launched Binance US in 2019 to comply with U.S. regulations, allegedly while still allowing U.S. users to access the larger Binance exchange.
- The SEC and DOJ began investigating Binance in 2020, leading to subpoenas.
- CZ’s net worth surged to nearly $100 billion at the beginning of 2022.
- Following the crypto market downturn and other crypto firms collapsing, Binance faced legal action and withdrew from some markets.
- In 2023, the CFTC sued Binance, and the SEC filed a lawsuit against CZ and the company.
- Binance agreed to pay $4.3 billion in fines to the DOJ and plead guilty to anti-money laundering violations.
- CZ stepped down as CEO but will maintain majority ownership, and Richard Tang was announced as the new CEO.
- Binance is now required to adhere to stricter oversight and compliance measures as part of its settlement with U.S. authorities.
- The company’s future without CZ at the helm remains uncertain, as does the potential impact of these events on the broader crypto market.
The Wall Street Journal is an American business and economic-focused international daily newspaper based in New York City. The Journal is published six days a week by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corp.
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Original video here.
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