Binance.US $4.3 billion fine to cryptocurrency exchange Binance

The US government announced that Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, will pay a total fine of $4.3 billion for violating anti-money laundering and sanctions laws.In the statement made by the US Department of Treasury, it was noted that Binance will pay a penalty of $ 3.4 billion within the scope of the agreement with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Unit (FinCEN) and a penalty of $ 968 million within the scope of the agreement with the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). In the statement, it was stated that Binance allowed a number of illegal actors to freely trade on the platform by not complying with anti-money laundering and sanctions laws. It was stated in the statement that there were important commitments within the scope of the agreement with FinCEN, including 5-year supervision and ensuring Binance's complete exit from the USA, and that if the agreement obligations are not fulfilled, Binance will be subject to additional penalties, including a deferred penalty of $ 150 million to be collected by FinCEN. It was noted that he may face penalties.US allowed trading of more than 1.5 million virtual currencies in violation of its sanctions US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, US Attorney General Merrick Garland, US Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chairman Rostin Behnam held a joint press conference on the issue. US Treasury Secretary Yellen explained at the press conference that FinCEN, OFAC and IRS have been examining Binance's activities for more than 3 years. Stating that Binance claimed to have exited the US market years ago, but in fact it was determined that it maintained important connections with US users and the country, Yellen noted that the company did not report suspicious transactions. Yellen reported that the platform allowed the trade of more than 1.5 million virtual currencies in violation of US sanctions. Binance admitted the accusations US Attorney General Merrick Garland also stated that he accepted that Binance committed the violations deliberately and emphasized that the approximately 4.3 billion dollars that Binance will pay is one of the largest penalties ever imposed. Informing that a monitoring and reporting obligation was imposed on Binance as part of the agreement, Garland noted that the company must review past transactions and report suspicious activities to federal authorities. Garland stated that they filed a criminal complaint against Binance Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Changpeng Zhao for willfully violating the relevant law, and that Zhao personally presented his defense to the Washington Western District Court earlier today. Binance's new CEO is Richard Teng On the other hand, Binance CEO Zhao, who was born in China and immigrated to Canada at the age of 12, agreed to resign and pay a $50 million fine as part of the agreement. Zhao, in his post on his Emphasizing that Binance is no longer a "baby" and that it is time to let the company walk and run, Zhao said, "I know that Binance will continue to grow and be successful with the deep infrastructure it has." made his assessment.Zhao stated that as a shareholder and former CEO with historical knowledge of the company, he will be available to provide consultancy when necessary, in accordance with the agreement made with the US government, and noted that he has not taken a real break for the last 6.5 years, so he will first take a break from his work for a while. Zhao stated that he will probably make some long-term investments from now on, that he cannot see himself as a CEO who will manage a startup again, and that he may be open to privately mentoring a small number of new entrepreneurs if he listens. Pointing to the agreement reached with the US, Zhao said Binance was not alleged to have misappropriated any user funds or was involved in any market manipulation.
Bitcoin has fallen over 20 percent since the first spot exchange-traded funds began trading on January 11, as speculators become more cautious about the products' potential impact. Thus, Bitcoin fell below 39 thousand dollars for the first time since December. Bitcoin had been on the rise on expectations that the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) would approve a Bitcoin spot ETF (exchange-traded funds), making the cryptocurrency accessible to new investors. On January 10, the SEC approved exchange-traded funds that directly track the price of Bitcoin. This made it easier for institutional and private investors to enter the crypto market. When the 2023 performance of Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency, is evaluated, Bitcoin increased by almost 160 percent last year, outperforming traditional assets such as stocks. Cryptocurrencies such as Ether and BNB, which rank second in terms of market value along with Bitcoin, have experienced sharp declines since the beginning of the year. "Due to the downtrend, the next significant price levels that could provide support for Bitcoin are predicted to be between $38,000 and $36,000," analysts at crypto exchange Bitfinex wrote in a note. he said.Terraform Labs has filed for bankruptcy with a court in the US state of Delaware, seeking creditor protection under Chapter 11 of the US Bankruptcy Code. The USA accused Do Kwon, the developer of "Terra Luna" and "TerraUSD" cryptocurrencies, and his company Terraform Labs, of "planning a multi-billion dollar crypto asset securities fraud". 31-year-old Kwon, who was wanted on a red notice, was arrested in Montenegro last year, and the USA and South Korea requested his extradition. Kwon is also accused of fraud and violating capital markets law in his home country of South Korea.The legal regulation regarding crypto assets has reached its final stage. Minister of Treasury and Finance Mehmet Şimşek stated that they have reached the final stage of the legal regulation regarding crypto assets and said, "Our main goal with crypto asset regulation is to make this area safer and to eliminate the risks that may arise."Şimşek made an evaluation about the legal regulation on crypto assets, which is under preparation. Stating that they have reached the final stage of the technical studies of the legal regulation regarding crypto assets, Şimşek said that there has been intense interest in crypto asset buying and selling platforms, especially during and after the epidemic process. Şimşek pointed out that this interest brings with it various risks due to both abuses on some platforms and excessive price movements, and said, "Therefore, we are taking steps to reduce the risks of parties trading with crypto assets in our country, similar to international practices. This is also within the scope of FATF to get out of the gray list." "It is one of the steps we need to take." he said. Şimşek pointed out that the Central Bank and MASAK already have regulations on this issue and said, "With these regulations, we have the opportunity to have information on issues such as transactions and transfers taking place on the platforms, but of course we need to do more than that." he said. Pointing out that international organizations are also intensifying their work on the issue, Şimşek explained that there is no single regulation on this issue worldwide and that the USA and European countries follow different practices. Stating that they are following the developments in the world closely and cautiously, Şimşek said, "When we look at international practices at this current stage, we see that countries are progressing by adopting approaches appropriate to their own financial and legal systems regarding crypto assets. In this sense, it becomes clear that regulatory steps need to be taken in our country as well." made his assessment.An inclusive definition has been made for crypto assets. Şimşek stated that the main goal of the legal work is to regulate the platforms and the transactions taking place there and said: "Crypto asset trading platforms will be licensed by the CMB, and minimum operating conditions will be obliged, similar to financial institutions. These will be conditions for founders and managers, organizational obligations, capital requirements, and IT infrastructure obligations. The details of the operating conditions will be determined by secondary regulation. Of course, this While making the regulations, it is necessary to make some definitions. In order to be compatible with international regulations, the definitions of crypto assets, wallet, crypto asset service provider, crypto asset custody service and crypto asset buying and selling platform are included. In our draft, crypto assets are defined in a broad sense. Accordingly, crypto assets It was defined as 'intangible assets that can be created and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or a similar technology, distributed over digital networks, and capable of expressing value or rights.' was intended to be created." Giving information that two different issues are regulated in the draft regarding the issuance of crypto assets, Şimşek said, "The CMB will be authorized to make regulations that will allow the issuance of capital market instruments as crypto assets instead of the registered system in the Central Registry Agency (MKK). People who develop blockchain and similar technologies will be able to increase the value of "Regulatory authority will be included for the sale of crypto assets, which constitute the blockchain technology infrastructure that cannot be separated from these technologies, through crowdfunding method." said. Şimşek stated that the regulation will not focus on tax at this stage and that the issue will be studied separately.Pointing out that many crypto assets are currently traded on the platforms, Şimşek said that, in principle, they have adopted a policy of not interfering with the crypto assets that will be listed on the platforms. Şimşek stated that it will be mandatory to create a written procedure for determining the crypto assets to be traded on the platforms and said, "The CMB has been given the authority to regulate additional principles and principles in order to intervene when necessary in this regard. The draft also took into account the issue of preserving investors' assets against the risk of abuse. Storage "The CMB will regulate the principles and the determination of institutions that can hold custody. Additionally, we are determining the general framework regarding measures and sanctions." made his assessment. "We will leave the 'partially compatible' category of FATF" Clarifying whether the regulation will contribute to Turkey's removal from FATF's gray list, Şimşek said that the section in which the country is considered "partially compliant" regarding crypto assets is related to technical standards, not within the scope of FATF's evaluation of the country's general action plan implementation deficiencies. attracted attention. Şimşek pointed out that Turkey is in the "partially compatible" category in the "New Technologies" standard no. 15 among 40 technical standards, and said, "Except for this standard, we are in the 'compatible' or 'largely compatible' category in all the rest. Regarding crypto assets With the enactment of our draft regulation and the start of licensing of crypto asset service providers, it is considered that we will eliminate the criticisms brought within the scope of FATF's technical standard No. 15 and exit the 'partially compatible' category. On the other hand, this issue is related to the technical standard and the only condition for us to be removed from the gray list is of course only It is not standard 15.” said.