The U.S. Department of Justice is currently in negotiations with cryptocurrency exchange Binance over settling a multi-year investigation. According to unnamed sources, the DOJ is seeking around $4 billion from Binance to resolve allegations of money laundering, bank fraud, and sanctions violations.
As part of the potential settlement, Binance founder and CEO Changpeng Zhao could face criminal charges in the U.S. However, agreeing to the deal would allow Binance to keep operating in America and avoid major disruption to crypto markets. If finalized, it would rank among the largest settlements in the history of the crypto industry.
The report comes on the heels of crypto exchange FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried being charged with fraud earlier this month. A settlement with the DOJ would mark another major regulatory action against a top crypto exchange and its leadership.
Unlike Bankman-Fried who resides in the Bahamas, Zhao lives in the United Arab Emirates which has no extradition agreement with the U.S. However, the UAE did recently sign a cybercrime cooperation deal that could potentially apply.
Binance has strongly fought against U.S. regulation attempts, claiming American law does not control the entire world. News of the talks drove up the price of bitcoin over $37,000 along with the election of a pro-bitcoin Argentine president over the weekend.
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