The former CEO of Binance, Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, is stepping down from his role as the chair of the board of directors at Binance.US. This decision is part of a broader settlement reached by CZ with U.S. officials and regulators, which includes one felony count in the United States.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter) on November 28, Binance.US clarified that it was not directly involved in the $4.3 billion settlement announced on November 21. Despite this, CZ has agreed to resign as chair and will no longer play a role in the governance of Binance.US. His voting rights will be transferred through a proxy. The exchange expressed gratitude for CZ’s guidance over the years and emphasized that Binance.US remains under the leadership of Norman Reed and its existing, experienced management team.
As of the latest update, CZ had not publicly commented on his decision to step down. In a recent X post, he mentioned having “a lot more free time” since resigning as Binance CEO.
On November 21, CZ pleaded guilty to a felony count related to the failure to maintain an effective Anti-Money Laundering program during his tenure as Binance CEO. The court is currently deliberating on whether CZ will be permitted to travel to the United Arab Emirates while awaiting sentencing, with a potential sentence of up to 18 months in prison.
While Binance.US was not directly involved in the settlement with the U.S. Justice Department, it faces a lawsuit filed in June by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against the crypto exchange, Binance, and CZ. The SEC’s investigation reportedly focuses on whether Binance.US had a backdoor mechanism to control user assets, drawing parallels to the situation at FTX.