After the news of the settlement reached by crypto exchange Binance with U.S. prosecutors on Tuesday, November 21, JPMorgan analyst Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou shared his view on the agreement as a positive development for its business and the broader cryptocurrency sector.
“We see the prospect of settlement as positive as uncertainty around Binance itself would subside, and its trading and BNB Smart Chain business would benefit. For crypto investors, the prospect of settlement would see the elimination of a potential systemic risk emanating from a hypothetical Binance collapse.” As per Panigirtzoglou’s comments to the Block on November 22.
In a far-reaching settlement with U.S. agencies on Tuesday, November 21, Binance and its co-founder Changpeng Zhao “CZ” plead guilty to charges of anti-money laundering and U.S. sanctions violations. Binance committed to a payment of $4.3 billion, marking one of the largest corporate settlements in U.S. history.
Zhao will pay a $50 million fine and step down as CEO as part of the agreement. This resolution, involving the Justice Department, Treasury Department, and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, ended a lengthy investigation into the exchange.
What is next for Binance?
After he resigned from his position as CEO of Binance, Zhao released an internal memo in which he wrote:
“Binance will be fine. I will have to deal with some pain, but will survive. We will get through, although with some changes in structure. It might not be a bad thing when we look back in a few years time.”
In light of the settlement announcement, Binance has experienced outflows exceeding $1 billion in the last 24 hours, contrasting with some competing exchanges.
Additionally, Binance’s native token, BNB, has declined by nearly 9% in the past 24 hours, trading at approximately $233.
