Binance will pay US$4.3 billion in penalties — one of the largest such agreements in US history — while Zhao will pay a US$50 million fine. He faces up to 10 years in prison but is expected to get no more than 18 months under a plea deal.
Mollify 150 million potentially jittery users, placate belligerent US regulators and keep high-profile founder Changpeng Zhao onside. These are just some of the tasks for crypto exchange Binance’s new head Richard Teng.
Teng, 53, succeeded Zhao as CEO of the world’s largest crypto exchange after the company and Zhao pleaded guilty to US anti-money laundering and sanctions violations. Zhao, Binance’s founder, stepped down as CEO as part of a sweeping deal to resolve the Department of Justice probe.
