Following the guilty plea of Changpeng Zhao (CZ), founder and former CEO of crypto exchange Binance, in November 2023, several American states have asked the local arm of the trading platform to refrain from servicing their residents. The Wall Street Journal reported that authorities in Florida and Alaska recently instructed Binance.US to cease its services in the regions. Following the changes, CZ’s interest in the exchange’s American arm became purely economic as the company became independent of its global business. Despite all said and done, regulators in Florida and Alaska said CZ’s guilty plea has made him unsuitable to control Binance.US as he still holds approximately 80% of the firm’s shares. It is worth mentioning that regulators in Arkansas, Illinois, and South Dakota reached an agreement with Binance.US in December concerning the firm’s continued operation in the states.

Source: Wall Street Journal January 27, 2024 09:02 UTC