Inside Binance’s Guilty Plea and the Biggest Fine in Crypto History

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By Patricia Kowsmann, Angus Berwick, Caitlin Ostroff and Dave Michaels

(The Wall Street Journal) — The king of crypto’s largest outlaw empire told employees for years that he would never turn himself in. But on Tuesday, a jittery Changpeng Zhao showed up in a Seattle federal court to plead guilty to violating U.S. money-laundering rules.

“I’ve not caused problems before, I’ve never been a criminal. And I’ve never been into a courthouse before. So this is new to me,” Zhao told a judge.

Hours earlier, Zhao and his company, Binance, agreed to plead guilty to resolve a Justice Department criminal investigation that has dogged the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange almost since its launch. As part of its plea, Binance will pay a $4.3 billion fine, and Zhao stepped down as CEO. He faces a prison sentence as long as 18 months.