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- Changpeng Zhao, former CEO of Binance, is nearing the end of his four-month prison sentence.
- Despite the legal issues, BNB has remained stable, with its price showing minimal reaction to the news.
Changpeng Zhao, commonly known as CZ, is nearing the end of his four-month prison sentence. Despite the legal proceedings that involved CZ and Binance, the native token BNB has been relatively stable, with few fluctuations in response to the events taking place.
CZ was found guilty of violating the U. S. Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) in early 2024 and received a four-month sentence. The charges arose from allegations that Binance had failed to conduct proper KYC checks, thus allowing criminal activities to take place on the exchange. In addition, Zhao received a fine of $50 million from the US government as a result of the prison sentence.
New Lawsuits Target Binance and CZ as Legal Troubles Mount
As Crypto News Flash earlier indicated, the federal prosecutors had initially pushed for a longer sentence but Zhao’s prison time was cut down. As part of the settlement, CZ also stepped down as the CEO of Binance. The company entered a guilty plea for money laundering and sanctions busting and was fined $4. 3bn. The fines imposed on Binance were some of the highest that a crypto exchange had ever been subjected to.
Zhao, currently 47 years old, is expected to be released from the federal prison on September 29, 2024, as per the Federal Bureau of Prisons registration number 88087-510. In the last few days before his release, BNB has been rather stable, which may be attributed to the legal problems that Binance has been facing.
However, as CZ’s release draws closer, legal pressure mounts on Binance. In mid-August, three cryptocurrency investors brought a legal claim against Binance and its former CEO, alleging that they had not done enough to safeguard users’ assets. The plaintiffs state that due to weak security checks, Binance facilitated the transfer of the stolen funds through the platform, which has put more pressure on the company’s legal issues.
These new lawsuits are the latest in a series of woes for Binance, which is currently facing probes from regulatory authorities in several jurisdictions. At the time of his imprisonment, Zhao was estimated to be worth $25. 3 billion, making him the richest person to be incarcerated in the United States, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires’ Index.
BNB Price Defies Expectations and Outperforms Major Cryptocurrencies
Despite the legal troubles surrounding CZ and Binance, the price of BNB has remained relatively stable. Currently standing at $532.79, the cryptocurrency has experienced a 3.51% gain in the last week. BNB has even surpassed Ethereum and Bitcoin in recent days.
BNB has been trading above the $525 level and has recently experienced an upward trend that broke through the $535 resistance level. However, bears are still pushing the price closer to the $550 resistance level while the price remains below the 100-hour SMA. The technical analysis indicates that the price may be under pressure at the $550 level due to a bearish trend line.
The next major resistance level for BNB sits at around $558. If the price breaks through this zone, it may challenge the $565 mark, which in turn may lead to more rises. If the price climbs above $565, it may reach the $580 resistance, and further gains could bring BNB to $592 within the next few days.
