Court unseals indictments against Binance and CZ, detailing expected guilty pleas
A federal court has released the indictments against Binance and CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao filed under seal on Nov. 14, in which the United States government said it expected the cryptocurrency exchange and CZ to enter guilty pleas.
In Nov. 14 filings in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington at Seattle, the U.S. government said it requested to file the indictments against Binance and CZ under seal, as any potential plea deals with the exchange and CEO and any regulatory settlements were “likely to have a major effect on the company, its customers, and global cryptocurrency markets.” Authorities charged CZ with one felony count for failure to maintain an effective Anti-Money Laundering program at Binance, violating the Bank Secrecy Act.
“On the day of the plea hearings, the Government anticipates that the criminal resolutions with Defendant Zhao and Defendant Binance will be announced simultaneously with significant civil resolutions by the U.S. Department of the Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control [OFAC], the U.S. Department of the Treasury Financial Crimes Enforcement Network [FinCEN], and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission [CFTC],” said the Nov. 14 filing, adding:
“While Binance is not a publicly traded company, Binance is the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world and news related to Zhao and Binance’s criminal and civil liability is likely to have a significant effect on trading of various cryptocurrencies.”
“Cryptocurrency markets are volatile, subject to significant swings based on external events,” said the filing. “Here, given the status that Binance and Zhao have among participants in the cryptocurrency and related markets, even the simple docketing of a federal criminal case against either would by itself have a significant market impact.”
The government compared potential volatility in the price of BNB (BNB) to that of FTX Token (FTT) when the crypto exchange collapsed in November 2022 and former CEO Sam “SBF” Bankman-Fried was indicted on federal fraud charges. SBF was subsequently found guilty on seven charges and awaits sentencing in March 2024.
According to court records, lawyers representing Binance and CZ appeared in court for separate hearings scheduled on the morning of Nov. 21 to discuss pleas and possible detention. Attorneys for CZ filed sealed motions concerning the Binance CEO’s conditional release pending sentencing in the case, but the contents were not available at the time of publication.
Related: Binance $3.9B USDT move gains community attention amid DOJ settlement claims
A settlement for many of the criminal and civil cases against Binance and CZ in the United States is expected to be announced at 8:00 pm UTC on Nov. 21 as part of a joint statement by the Justice Department, CFTC, and Department of the Treasury. According to many reports, CZ has agreed to plead guilty, and Binance will pay more than $4 billion as part of the settlement.
It’s unclear at the time of publication if any part of the announcement will concern Binance’s pending civil case with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. In June, the regulator filed 13 charges against the crypto exchange, Binance.US and CZ for securities law violations.
Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin, marks their 50th birthday amid a year of rising institutional and geopolitical adoption of the world’s first cryptocurrency.
The identity of Nakamoto remains one of the biggest mysteries in crypto, with speculation ranging from cryptographers like Adam Back and Nick Szabo to broader theories involving government intelligence agencies.
While Nakamoto’s identity remains anonymous, the Bitcoin (BTC) creator is believed to have turned 50 on April 5 based on details shared in the past.
According to archived data from his P2P Foundation profile, Nakamoto once claimed to be a 37-year-old man living in Japan and listed his birthdate as April 5, 1975.
Source: Web.archive.org
Nakamoto’s anonymity has played a vital role in maintaining the decentralized nature of the Bitcoin network, which has no central authority or leadership.
The Bitcoin wallet associated with Nakamoto, which holds over 1 million BTC, has laid dormant for more than 16 years despite BTC rising from $0 to an all-time high above $109,000 in January.
Satoshi Nakamoto statue in Lugano, Switzerland. Source: Cointelegraph
Nakamoto’s 50th birthday comes nearly a month after US President Donald Trump signed an executive order creating a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and a Digital Asset Stockpile, marking the first major step toward integrating Bitcoin into the US financial system.
Related: Bitcoin at 16: From experiment to trillion-dollar asset
Nakamoto’s legacy: a “cornerstone of economic sovereignty”
“At 50, Nakamoto’s legacy is no longer just code; it’s a cornerstone of economic sovereignty,” according to Anndy Lian, author and intergovernmental blockchain expert.
“Bitcoin’s reserve status signals trust in its scarcity and resilience,” Lian told Cointelegraph, adding:
“What’s fascinating is the timing. Fifty feels symbolic — half a century of life, mirrored by Bitcoin’s journey from a white paper to a trillion-dollar asset. Nakamoto’s vision of trustless, peer-to-peer money has outgrown its cypherpunk roots, entering the halls of power.”
However, lingering questions about Nakamoto remain unanswered, including whether they still hold the keys to their wallet, which is “a fortune now tied to US policy,” Lian said.
Related: Bitcoin’s next catalyst: End of $36T US debt ceiling suspension
Is Satoshi Nakamoto wealthier than Bill Gates?
In February, Arkham Intelligence published findings that attribute 1.096 million BTC — then valued at more than $108 billion — to Nakamoto. That would place him above Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates on the global wealth rankings, according to data shared by Coinbase director Conor Grogan.
Satoshi’s new addresses. Source: Conor Grogan
If accurate, this would make Nakamoto the world’s 16th richest person.
Despite the growing interest in Nakamoto’s identity and holdings, his early decision to remain anonymous and inactive has helped preserve Bitcoin’s decentralized ethos — a principle that continues to define the cryptocurrency to this day.
Magazine: 10 crypto theories that missed as badly as ‘Peter Todd is Satoshi’
The United States stock market lost more in value over the April 4 trading day than the entire cryptocurrency market is worth, as fears over US President Donald Trump’s tariffs continue to ramp up.
On April 4, the US stock market lost $3.25 trillion — around $570 billion more than the entire crypto market’s $2.68 trillion valuation at the time of publication.
Nasdaq 100 is now “in a bear market”
Among the Magnificent-7 stocks, Tesla (TSLA) led the losses on the day with a 10.42% drop, followed by Nvidia (NVDA) down 7.36% and Apple (AAPL) falling 7.29%, according to TradingView data.
The significant decline across the board signals that the Nasdaq 100 is now “in a bear market” after falling 6% across the trading day, trading resource account The Kobeissi Letter said in an April 4 X post. This is the largest daily decline since March 16, 2020.
“US stocks have now erased a massive -$11 TRILLION since February 19 with recession odds ABOVE 60%,” it added. The Kobessi Letter said Trump’s April 2 tariff announcement was “historic” and if the tariffs continue, a recession will be “impossible to avoid.”
Source: Anthony Scaramucci
On April 2, Trump signed an executive order establishing reciprocal tariffs on trading partners and a 10% baseline tariff on all imports from all countries.
Trump said the reciprocal tariffs will be roughly half the rate US trading partners impose on American goods.
Related: Bitcoin bulls defend $80K support as ‘World War 3 of trade wars’ crushes US stocks
Meanwhile, the crypto industry has pointed out that while the stock market continues to decline, Bitcoin (BTC) remains stronger than most expected.
Crypto trader Plan Markus pointed out in an April 4 X post that while the entire stock market “is tanking,” Bitcoin is holding.
Source: Jeff Dorman
Even some crypto skeptics have pointed out the contrast between Bitcoin’s performance and the US stock market during the recent period of macro uncertainty.
Stock market commentator Dividend Hero told his 203,200 X followers that he has “hated on Bitcoin in the past, but seeing it not tank while the stock market does is very interesting to me.”
Meanwhile, technical trader Urkel said Bitcoin “doesn’t appear to care one bit about tariff wars and markets tanking.” Bitcoin is trading at $83,749 at the time of publication, down 0.16% over the past seven days, according to CoinMarketCap data.
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