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BNB Plummets 10% Amid Binance’s $4.3 Billion Settlement And CEO’s Impending Resignation

Binance Coin (BNB), the native token of the Binance cryptocurrency exchange, has experienced a sharp decline of 10% following reports that Binance is preparing to settle criminal charges with the US Department of Justice (DOJ) through a $4.3 billion fine. 

Binance CEO To Plead Guilty

The Wall Street Journal has disclosed that Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ), commonly known as CZ, will plead guilty to violating criminal anti-money laundering requirements. 

Concurrently, Binance will also plead guilty to a criminal charge related to anti-money laundering violations, resulting in a significant fine. Furthermore, CZ is expected to step down as CEO, with Richard Teng being considered as a potential successor.

Changpeng Zhao is scheduled to appear before a federal court in Seattle to enter his guilty plea. This crucial legal step can further impact BNB’s price action as investors assess the implications of CZ’s admission of guilt regarding violating anti-money laundering requirements. 

The reported settlement involves Binance pleading guilty to a criminal charge related to anti-money laundering violations, leading to a hefty $4.3 billion fine. This substantial sum encompasses payments to settle civil allegations made by regulators. 

These developments occur in an increasingly stringent regulatory environment in the cryptocurrency industry. The recent charges brought by the SEC against Kraken further highlight the regulatory scrutiny faced by industry players. 

Additionally, market participants anticipate significant enforcement actions by the DOJ, which adds to the atmosphere of uncertainty and apprehension.

Will CZ’s Statement Halt BNB Downtrend? 

Despite the shocking revelation surrounding Binance’s leadership and its impact on the crypto community, there may still be hopes for a potential recovery of Binance Coin and the overall crypto market as the case reaches its conclusion.

With CZ reaching a settlement with the US Department of Justice (DOJ) and pleading guilty to criminal charges, the exchange can breathe a sigh of relief, knowing that regulatory agencies have addressed their concerns and potential legal action.

Furthermore, this settlement could be seen as a victory for regulators, particularly in light of the ongoing legal battles between the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Ripple Labs, which involve the cryptocurrency XRP. 

A favorable outcome in these cases could potentially boost confidence in the broader crypto industry and drive prices higher.

BNB

Currently, BNB is trading at $240, showing signs of recovery from its recent drop, which briefly touched $235 but managed to stay above the critical support level of $232. 

In further declines, BNB bulls will need to hold the support levels at $228, $217, and $214 to prevent the token from dropping below the critical level of $200.

However, suppose Changpeng Zhao and the new Binance CEO can provide a statement that reassures the community and instills a sense of calm. In that case, it may bring a renewed positive sentiment and potentially halt the current downtrend for BNB.

The unfolding of the situation, the next steps for the exchange, and CZ’s fate remain to be seen. The community and market participants eagerly await further developments and announcements shaping the future of Binance and its native token, BNB.

Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from TradingView.com 

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The $200 Million BNB Bridge Exploiter Just Got Liquidated On Venus

According to Coinglass, the crypto market witnessed more than $1.04 billion in liquidations during this period. Of this, a BNB position on the Venus lending protocol belonging to the perpetrator of the BSC bridge $560M hack was liquidated.

The BSC Bridge Hack: Understanding One of Crypto’s Biggest Exploits

The BSC brdige hack in October 2022 was one of the biggest exploits in crypto and DeFi history, with the hacker stealing nearly $593 million in BNB. But the story didn’t end there as the hacker tried to launder as much money as they could. 

After the attack, the hacker deposited 900,000 BNB worth $200 million on Venus as collateral to borrow $150 million worth of stablecoins. With more than $598.25 million in TVL, the Venus protocol is the second-largest DeFi protocol on the Binance Smart Chain. 

According to DeFi researcher Ignas, the position was the “single largest potential liquidation in all #DeFi that cannot be closed.” This is because, while the BNB Chain was halted and the network upgrade after the exploit, the ecosystem was put at risk, as liquidation of such an amount could lead to a further plummet in the price of BNB. 

As a result, the Venus DAO voted to whitelist BNB Chain as the sole liquidator of the hacker’s address in case of a margin call. Notably, a drop in the price of BNB to $220 would see the hacker’s collateral liquidated. 

Now, with the price of the token experiencing a selloff in the past few days, the team has chosen to manually liquidate the position to reduce the impact of a margin call on the BSC ecosystem. 

On-chain data from PeckShieldAlert shows that the position has been liquidated for 5.6 million BNB tokens worth $52.3 million, a fraction of the total position. 

What’s Next For BNB?

Since that time, the price of BNB has dropped below $220. Now, the cryptocurrency is trading at $215.00, reflecting a drop of 10.76% in the past 7 days. 

Although the token has had a tough time with its price in the past few months as the industry awaits the outcome of the SEC’s lawsuit against Binance.US, the toke still manages to stand strong than most would expect. 

At this time, BNB has a market cap of $33 billion, making it the fourth-largest cryptocurrency. 

BNB price chart from Tradingview.com (Binance)