A federal judge sentenced former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao to four months in prison for violating U.S. money laundering laws. did. At an April 30 hearing in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, Judge Richard Jones sentenced Zhao to four months in prison. Prosecutors are recommending a three-year prison term for Binance's former CEO for failing to maintain an effective anti-money laundering (AML) program while working for the cryptocurrency exchange, with him serving 11 years in prison. He pleaded guilty in May. CZ's lawyer asked for a suspended sentence.
Zhao's lawyers cited information in documents submitted to the court but kept secret from the public as a "compelling factor" for judges to consider when reaching a decision. Lawyers argued that Mr. Zhao's wealth could make him a target for prison, and that Judge Jones could impose a suspended sentence of no more than six months. Before sentencing, CZ apologized for his actions and said he had "had a lot of time to think and reflect." He added that he is responsible for Binance's failure to implement an effective AML program.
After stepping down as CEO in November, CZ said he wanted to "step away from Twitter" and did not publicly comment on the criminal case. In March, he launched Giggle Academy, a cryptocurrency and blockchain education project for young people. Following Chao's departure, Binance's former head of regional markets, Richard Teng, took over as CEO. Alex Mashinsky becomes one of the leading figures in the cryptocurrency world to be indicted, following Bankman Fried and Zhao.
BlackRock's BUIDL Emerges as World's Largest Tokenized Treasury Fund
BlackRock USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund surpasses Franklin Templeton's product this week to become the largest blockchain-tokenized treasury fund to date It became. According to Dune Analytics' dashboard, stock ticker BUIDL's BlackRock six-week product has reached a market cap of $375 million, outpacing Franklin OnChain US, which is 12 months old. Government Monetary Fund (BENJI), its size is $368 million.
Blockchain-based tokenization of real-world assets has been a hot topic lately. BlackRock CEO Larry Fink recently said capital markets could become more efficient by moving to chains. National debt is just one part of it. Stocks, real estate, and many other assets can also be tokenized. However, investor demand for these tokenized products is currently low, according to Tom Wang, research strategist at 21.co, citing low liquidity as one of the main reasons.
The good news is that there is already demand for Treasuries from industry players in the $140 billion stablecoin market. Therefore, it will be easier to find end investors to switch when demand increases, Wang explained. Currently, tokenized Treasury securities account for 1.4% of total on-chain tokenized assets, up from 0.1% at the beginning of 2023. However, Mr. Wang predicts that this market power will increase to 10% in the future. Boston Consulting Group estimates that blockchain-based tokenization will reach a $16 trillion market by 2030.
Nigeria Implements Restrictions on Fintech Onboarding to Curb KYC-Evading Crypto Investors
As Nigeria continues to improve crypto and traditional know-your-customer (KYC) compliance, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) It ordered four fintech companies to stop onboarding new customers. investment. Nigerian fintech companies OPay, Kuda Bank, Moniepoint and PalmPay have suspended new account creation due to ongoing audits of their KYC processes. An analysis of 1,146 blocked bank accounts found that only 10% are run by fintechs, with the majority being business bank accounts.
The ongoing government intervention is led by the CBN and closely supported by the National Security Agency (NSA) and the EFCC. In October 2023, Nigerian commercial bank Fidelity Bank blocked all money transfers to the same four fintechs, citing KYC concerns. The lack of KYC requirements on the platform led to fraud cases such as tax evasion and money laundering. A senior executive at one company said the suspension of new customer acquisition is temporary and the company will resume operations once an ongoing review of its KYC processes is completed.
Cryptocurrency enthusiasts, investors and entrepreneurs have welcomed the appointment of Emomotimi Agama as the new Director of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The purpose of this appointment is to regulate capital markets, increase investor confidence and promote economic development. Nathaniel Rus, CEO of over-the-counter cryptocurrency exchange Flyncap, according to Cointelegraph.
