Why was CZ of Binance forced to resign?

By Invictus21 | Crypto Mademoiselle | 22 Nov 2023

Who is CZ of Binance?

Firstly, the reference CZ is his popularly used nickname for Changpeng Zhao.CZ is a Chinese-Canadian entrepreneur and cryptocurrency executive who is the founder and CEO of Binance. As I mentioned in my other articles about Binance, it is the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume. He was born in Linyi, China in 1977 and immigrated to Canada with his family when he was 12 years old. He obtained computer science a Bachelor of Science degree in computer science from McGill University in Montreal and later worked as a software engineer at Bloomberg LP and Morgan Stanley. Under his belt, and apart from Binance, CZ has founded several startups, including:

Fusion Systems: A blockchain development company
Bijie Tech: A cryptocurrency exchange that was later acquired by Binance
Binance: The world's largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume

CZ's legal troubles

Changpeng Zhao was obligated to resign as CEO of Binance in November 2023 after the exchange reached a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission over charges of money laundering and sanctions violations. The DOJ's charges against Binance alleged that the exchange had failed to implement adequate anti-money laundering and know-your-customer procedures, which had allowed it to be used by criminals to launder money and evade sanctions. The DOJ also alleged that Binance had engaged in market manipulation. In addition, the SEC's charges against Binance alleged that the exchange had operated an unregistered securities exchange and had misled investors by using a Switzerland-based fund, Sigma Chain, to inflate the trading volume on Binance's U.S. platform. In light of all these charges, Binance opted for a settlement to pay a $4.3 billion fine and to implement a number of reforms, including:

Strengthening its AML and KYC procedures
Registering its U.S. spot trading platform with the SEC
Cooperating with the DOJ and SEC in ongoing investigations

CZ's resignation Tweet

CZ tweeted about his resignation admitting to making mistakes, assuring customer funds security, introducing the new Binance CEO and mentioning he will take a break from his hectic "phone-always-on" lifestyle as a unicorn Crypto startup CEO.(Okay, okay... I addded the 🦄 part). CZ's resignation was seen as a way for Binance to distance itself from the DOJ and SEC charges and to show that it was committed to complying with U.S. law. In a statement announcing his resignation, CZ said that he was stepping down in order to "allow the company to move forward." Read the part of the tweet below:

Are you a Binance client? Were you happy with CZ's leadership? What do you think will happen from now on??Share thoughts below.

TO SUPPORT MY WRITING:

Earn daily Bitcoin with Surveys and games Cointiply
Join Binance: Start blogging and monetizing content.
Buy Me Coffee
Use Referral CODE: ztrg7mb4dy to Complete Missions Crypto.com

Resources

How do you rate this article?

Invictus21

Blogger and bilingual in Spanish and English crypto enthusiast.

Crypto Mademoiselle

Here you will find articles to inform and educate regarding the opportunities and pitfalls in Crypto in general as well as specific case studies. As a relative newbie myself, I am starting to navigate this world with some confidence, though I will admit that I don´t know a ton. All in all, I follow the strict rule of doing my own DYOR and never investing MORE THAN I can afford to lose. If you are on the learning curve and are excired about the prospects of profiting while learning join me.