In a surprising turn of events, the X account of Changpeng Zhao, the co-founder and former CEO of Binance (CRYPTO: BNB), was temporarily restricted, before being reinstated.
This development came amid a series of controversies surrounding Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange.
In a historic settlement, Binance and Zhao pleaded guilty to multiple violations, agreeing to pay a staggering $4.3 billion.
After about an hour of restriction, the account was reinstated.
Explaining the reason behind the restriction, Zhao said it was apparently due to him changing the profile name of his account.
He urged Elon Musk to work on the bot detection algorithms of X so that such instances are not repeated.
After admitting to multiple charges, including anti-money laundering violations, Zhao agreed to pay a personal fine of $50 million. He has managed to avoid jail time and was released on a $175 million personal recognizance bond.
The controversies have not only affected Zhao’s social media presence but have also raised questions about Binance’s operations.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) alleged that billions of dollars of customer funds were directed to firms controlled by Zhao via an intermediary holding company.
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) also charged Binance and Zhao with willful evasion of federal law and operating an illegal digital asset derivatives exchange.
The charges have sent shockwaves through the cryptocurrency community, given Binance’s stature in the industry
The recent events mark a significant setback for Binance, which handles $65 billion in daily trades and boasts 128 million customers.
The company has been a cornerstone of the $1 trillion digital asset market.
However, the current controversies have cast a shadow over its future.
Photo: Web Summit on flickr
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