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Cryptocurrency Villains, From Sam Bankman-Fried to Bitcoin Jesus
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Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, or “CZ,” was sentenced earlier this year to four months in prison for enabling rampant money laundering on the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange.
In November 2023, Binance and then-CEO Zhao pleaded guilty to money laundering charges for allowing customers from other countries to make transactions in violation of U.S. sanctions. As part of the settlement, the The company agreed to pay $4.3 billion in fines, and Zhao agreed to pay a fine of $50 million and DESCEND from his post.
Richard Teng, Binance’s regional head of markets and a former Abu Dhabi regulator, has since taken over as CEO. He is making some major changes to the company, such as finding a Headquarters locationthat contrasts Binance’s once-held position that a decentralized company doesn’t need an office. The cryptocurrency exchange could signal to authorities that it is rebuilding after Zhao’s departure.
Make Known
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Co-founder of cryptocurrency firm Terraform Labs, Do Kwon, was once king of the cryptocurrency worldbut is now awaiting extradition to the United States or South Korea, where he could face charges.
Terraform Labs collapsed in 2022, which had a significant impact on the cryptocurrency world. Terraform’s stablecoin, TerraUSD (UST), was pegged to the Terra (LUNA) cryptocurrency, meaning that 1$UST was always worth 1$USD of Luna. However, in May 2022, the value of LUNA plummeted from over $120 per coin to almost zero, resulting in a loss of over $50 billion in UST/LUNA market cap and triggering a crash that wiped out $400 billion in value from the broader cryptocurrency market.
The SEC has filed a lawsuit against Terraform and Kwon alleging the deceptive promotion and sale of cryptocurrency tokens, specifically the algorithmic stablecoin TerraUSD (UST).
known was arrested in March 2023 for falsifying travel documents while attempting to leave the southern European country of Montenegro. Earlier this year, agreed to pay $4.47 billion to resolve a civil lawsuit filed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.