Binance Sees Over $1 Billion Outflow Following CZ’s Guilty Plea: Data

Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, has experienced a substantial outflow of over $1 billion within 24 hours.

This development comes in the wake of the former CEO, Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, pleading guilty to charges related to money laundering violations and a settlement amounting to $4.3 billion with the U.S. Justice Department.

Binance Faces Significant Outflows and Liquidations

Data from DeFi TVL aggregator DefiLlama reveals that Binance has witnessed significant outflows totaling $1.01 billion in the last 24 hours. That adds to a net outflow of $703 million over the past week.

Despite these recent outflows, Binance still recorded net inflows of $1.68 billion in the past month, making it the leader among all centralized crypto exchanges tracked by DeFiLama.

OKEx, on the other hand, has seen substantial gains as users migrate from Binance. The exchange experienced net inflows of $152 million in the past day, marking the highest among all centralized crypto exchanges monitored by DeFiLama.

Additionally, following Binance’s settlement, more than $200 million in Crypto Futures Bets have been liquidated. CoinGlass data indicates that crypto perpetual futures positions worth $227 million were liquidated in the last 24 hours, with bullish longs comprising nearly 80% of the total. Bitcoin longs and shorts worth over $67 million were also wrecked, representing one of the most significant liquidation events in recent months.

Ether (ETH) futures traders incurred losses of $27 million, while Solana’s SOL traders faced $10 million in liquidations. BNB, associated with the Binance ecosystem, experienced relatively lower liquidations at $6 million. Notably, traders at Binance accounted for $99 million in liquidations, the highest among counterparties, with OKEx following closely at $62 million.

Binance Settles with US Justice Department

Binance and its CEO, Changpeng Zhao, pleaded guilty to criminal charges related to anti-money laundering and U.S. sanctions violations. As part of a settlement with the U.S. Justice Department, Binance will pay a substantial fine of $4.3 billion, and Zhao will step down as CEO. Additionally, CZ faces a personal fine of $200 million and a maximum prison sentence of 10 years.

The charges against Binance include money laundering violations, violation of U.S. sanctions, and conspiracy to conduct an unlicensed money transmission business. The company admitted to failing in its duty to prevent and report suspicious transactions associated with terrorist organizations such as Hamas’ al-Qassam Brigades, Islamic State, and al Qaeda.

In addition to the criminal charges, Binance is confronting two civil lawsuits in the United States. The Commodities and Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have filed these lawsuits, alleging various violations, including misappropriation of client assets, anti-money laundering violations, and the artificial inflation of trading volumes.