Crypto companies received a warning from the U.S. Treasury Secretary
Crypto companies received a warning from the U.S. Treasury Secretary
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen appealed to companies that provide services for trading digital currencies to comply with the framework of the law and act within the requirements of the U.S. financial system.
This statement came after the U.S. Department of Justice imposed sanctions on cryptocurrency exchange Binance and its CEO, Changpeng Zhao.
According to CoinGape, Janet Yellen warned cryptocurrency companies about the need to comply with the requirements of the Digital Services Act. She emphasized that compliance with the law will allow crypto companies to take full advantage of joining the U.S. financial system.
The statement of the Minister of Finance was made against the background of significant events in the crypto industry, when the world's largest exchange was found guilty of money laundering, involvement in the financing of terrorist organizations, and violation of sanctions.
As a reminder, on November 21, 2023, the U.S. Treasury Department, along with FinCEN, OFAC, and the IRS, fined Binance a record $4.37 billion. The fine has to be paid within 15 months.
Binance, which leads the crypto market by trading volume and accounts for 60% of global spot trading in digital assets, confirmed the violation and admitted to willful failure to comply with the Know Your Customer (KYC) program.
To settle the U.S. authorities' charges against Binance, CEO Changpeng Zhao announced his resignation as CEO and was detained. CZ was later released after he posted $175 million in bail.
Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao pleaded guilty and will personally pay a $50 million fine. Zhao stressed, however, that Binance was never accused of using client funds or manipulating the market.
The impressive fines mark the end of a lengthy investigation into the cryptocurrency exchange. The price of the Binance BNB cryptocurrency immediately plummeted by 10%. For now, the token is trading at $236, having fallen from $260 in 24 hours.
As further confirmation of the bearish stance, the BNB funding rate also dropped sharply within an hour of Changpeng Zhao's reported resignation. This means that most investors expect prices and market liquidity to decline further in the coming days. Experts predict that further intensification of bearish sentiment will cause BNB to fall to the $200 level.
Read also: Binance agrees to U.S. Department of Justice settlement deal.
