Fintech Nexus Newsletter (November 22, 2023): CZ Out As Binance Chief, Pleads Guilty

Republished By Plato

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So much for a slow news week this Thanksgiving.

The fast-moving cluster that was the OpenAI leadership battle appears to have been resolved with Sam Altman returning as CEO. Shoutout to our cartoonist Matt Bodkin who I thought captured the last five days at OpenAi well (see below).

But the OpenAI story was eclipsed yesterday by monumental news in the world of crypto. The world’s largest crypto exchange, Binance, has agreed to pay $4.3 billion in fines to the U.S. government for violating anti-money-laundering requirements.

That would have been a massive story in and of itself. But when Changpeng Zhao (CZ) appeared in a Seattle court yesterday he pleaded guilty to facilitating transactions with sanctioned groups. He agreed to personally pay a $50 million fine and to step down from the CEO role of the company he founded.

He will avoid jail time unlike his fellow crypto luminary Sam Bankman-Fried, and his fall is nowhere near as complete. But this must be a huge blow to CZ personally as he will no longer control the most important company in crypto.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. We will be back on Monday.

P.S. We often feature articles from The Fintech Blueprint in our newsletter. For Black Friday they’re offering their steepest discount yet — 50% off a premium subscription. It’s a fantastic value. For less than $10/month, you can ensure you’re getting access to the best fintech analysis in the biz. Get 50% off here.

Featured

Binance Founder Changpeng Zhao Agrees to Step Down, Plead Guilty

The largest global crypto exchange will admit wrongdoing and agree to pay $4.3 billion in fines.

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USA: Sam Altman to return as OpenAI CEO
Sam Altman is returning to OpenAI as its chief executive, the high-profile AI startup said Wednesday, a dramatic reversal that caps an intense five days of discussions, debates and convincing following the sudden dismissal of Altman last week from the startup he co-founded.
USA: Grayscale Met With SEC to Discuss Spot Bitcoin ETF Bid
According to a memo published by the SEC, officials from the Division of Trading and Markets met with Grayscale’s CEO and other principals.
USA: OneMain pushes further into auto finance with acquisition
OneMain Financial, which mainly offers consumer installment loans, is paying $115 million to buy a small subprime auto lender from the investment bank Jefferies.
UK: Ex-Revolut leaders build digital wallet
A group of former Revolut, Coinbase and Spotify staffers have unveiled Zeal, a digital wallet for managing crypto and interacting with web3 and decentralised finance apps.
Global: Binance Will Retain Its International Dominance After U.S. Settlement: Bernstein
The deal also removes the final hurdle before approval of a spot bitcoin ETF, the report said.
USA: Postmortem: Did Credit Karma kill Mint or was PFM already on life support?
Intuit has decided to sunset its personal financial management tool Mint, stating that it will “reimagine” the tool as part of Intuit Credit Karma. Are Mint’s final hours harbingers of doom for the personal financial management space?
USA: TruStage to Invest in Personal Loan Fintech
Happy Money seeks to expand its network of credit union lending partners.

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Peter Renton is the chairman and co-founder of Fintech Nexus, the world’s largest digital media company focused on fintech. Peter has been writing about fintech since 2010 and he is the author and creator of the Fintech One-on-One Podcast, the first and longest-running fintech interview series.

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