The world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange platform, Binance, will pay fines of about $4.3 billion and its founder Changpeng Zhao will resign from running the firm, in an agreement with US authorities, following an accusation described as a “point of “inflection” by the United States authorities

This was announced in a press conference by the Attorney General, Merrick Garland; Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen; Deputy Prosecutor Lisa Monaco and the President of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Rostin Behnam, who stressed the importance of this action for the US Government.

Binance and Changpeng Zhao thus resolve – with one of the largest fines in history for a company in the US – the accusations of non-compliance with anti-money laundering regulations, the transmission of money without a license and violation of the US sanctions regime, indicated a statement.

Binance had been under investigation by the authorities since 2018, according to US media, but until now they had not resorted to justice.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Changpeng Zhao would appear this Tuesday before a federal judge in Seattle (Washington state) to acknowledge his guilt for violating anti-money laundering laws in the United States.

This Canadian, born in China, is the best-known personality in the world of cryptocurrencies.

Binance is, by far, the most important cryptocurrency exchange platform with about $12 billion in transactions made in the last 24 hours, according to the specialized site CoinMarketCap.

In particular, the CFTC accuses Binance of not having taken sufficient measures to prevent money laundering. Customers could access the platform without identity verification.

According to the financial newspaper, the agreement allows Changpeng Zhao to retain his stake in Binance’s capital. His sentence will be known later.