Binance and its founder, Changpeng Zhao, pleaded guilty Tuesday to violating criminal anti-money-laundering guidelines — a staggering blow against the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, the Washington Post reported. The company will also pay a $4.3 billion fine, one of the largest ever levied against a corporation. The plea agreement marks the second time this month that a giant of the crypto world has been felled by federal charges. Zhao, who appeared Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Seattle, faces as much as 18 months in prison for violating the Bank Secrecy Act, according to sentencing guidelines. He will be fined $50 million and is barred from working with the exchange for three years, court filings show. Zhao also agreed to step down as chief executive of Binance. He will be replaced by Richard Teng, the company’s global head of regional markets.
