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- Crypto exchange Binance has been under scrutiny from US regulators for a while.
- "CZ," Binance's founder, will plead guilty, to anti money-laundering violations and will step down, the WSJ reported.
- He tweeted two days ago about Sam Altman's situation at OpenAI. It seems prophetic now.
Two days ago, Changpeng Zhao — the man who founded crypto exchange Binance and who's known as "CZ" — tweeted about Sam Altman's current predicament with a strangely prophetic line:
"Knowing when to let go control of a company you founded is one of the trickiest decisions."
Investors and founders don't always align. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.
— CZ 🔶 Binance (@cz_binance) November 18, 2023
(To be fair, no two person can always be 100% aligned. I am both a founder and investor.)
Knowing when to let go control of a company you founded is one of the trickiest decisions. https://t.co/FcxGg0gFd2
Perhaps at the time, he had something on his mind more than just the OpenAI troubles.
It's almost like he was hinting at stepping down.
Now, on Tuesday — just two days after CZ's post — news broke that he was indeed set to step down as the head of crypto exchange Binance, according to a Wall Street Journal report.
He will also agree to plead guilty to charges of not complying with anti money-laundering regulations in the US. He'll pay a $50 million criminal fine, the WSJ reported; Binance itself will plead guilty and pay fines of $4.3 billion, the report said.
US regulators have been cracking down on crypto lately, and Binance, one of the largest exchanges and former chief competitor to Sam Bankman-Fried's FTX, has been under scrutiny.
CZ's reported deal with the government means if he steps down and the fines are paid, Binance can to continue to operate, the Journal reported.