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Binance founder and former CEO Changpeng Zhao released from prison

Posted on by Audrey

Changpeng Zhao, the founder and former CEO of Binance, was given a four-month term in the US and was released from prison two days early.

Changpeng Zhao, 47, was originally supposed to be released on September 29, but federal regulations permitted an early release from Long Beach Residential Reentry Management since the date fell on a weekend, according to Bloomberg.

Binance founder Changpeng Zhao released after 4 months in prison
Binance founder Changpeng Zhao released after 4 months in prison.

The creator of Binance (BNB), who was charged with neglecting to enforce appropriate anti-money laundering and sanctions policies at Binance, started serving his sentence in May 2024.

In comparison to the three-year sentence that the U.S. Department of Justice had requested, Zhao was given a very light punishment.

Zhao and Binance admitted to breaking American anti-money laundering and sanctions laws in November 2023. In certain situations, transactions for nations like Iran and Cuba that were subject to US sanctions were facilitated.

The US authorities demanded that Binance pay $4.3 billion in fines as part of his plea agreement, while Zhao personally paid a $50 million punishment. In addition, he consented to resign as the company’s CEO.

Zhao is forbidden from “managing or operating” the business as a result of the settlement, albeit the exact terms are yet unknown.

Although earlier reports indicated a three-year suspension, Binance CEO Richard Teng clarified that Zhao has been banned from day-to-day management for life in a remark to Axios. He made it clear, though, that Zhao still has full shareholder rights, including the choice to designate new directors and officers.

In 2024, Zhao will still rank among the richest individuals despite his legal issues and billion-dollar penalties. Zhao, whose net worth is $60.6 billion, is ranked number 25 overall on Forbes’ most recent list of billionaires.

Out of the 17 members of the bitcoin sector that are listed, he is now the wealthiest person.

Spot Bitcoin ETF inflows cross $1B this week, BlackRock buys IBIT

Demand for US spot Bitcoin ETFs has increased in response to rate reduction by the Federal Reserve and an increase in BTC holdings by BlackRock.

Following the Fed’s rate-cut announcements, the US spot Bitcoin ETF market has been rapidly heating up as institutions scramble to get their piece of the cryptocurrency. The BTC ETF had an incredible $495 million in inflows on Friday alone, bringing its weekly inflows to above $1 billion. Additionally, the most recent report demonstrates that BlackRock is still adding to its own ETF, IBIT.

Spot Bitcoin ETF in demand

Demand for the spot Bitcoin ETF has increased dramatically since the Fed dropped interest rates since inflows are still coming in every day and are being supported by large trading volumes. This demonstrates that the regulated ETF products have collected almost 17,009 BTCs this week alone due to the intense demand. This demonstrates unequivocally the significant institutional involvement in BTC ETFs.

For the second day in a row, Ark Invest’s ARKB is leading the field with inflows of more than $203 million on Friday. According to statistics from Farside Investors, Fidelity’s FBTC ranked second with $123 million in inflows, while BlackRock’s IBIT came in third with $111.7 million. On Friday, just these three individuals removed 6,661 Bitcoins from the open market.

The demand for Bitcoin (BTC) ETFs is far more than the 450 Bitcoins that are produced every day. In addition to the 17,000 Bitcoins that exchange-traded funds acquired this week, MicroStrategy brought home 7,000 Bitcoins by itself.

This helps to explain the sharp increases in the price of Bitcoin, which have increased by 5% in the last week. With a market valuation of $1.305 trillion, the price of bitcoin is now up 1.16% at $66,071.29 as of the time of writing. This spike occurs as investors get ready for the anticipated bull run in Q4 2024.

BlackRock buys IBIT

BlackRock, the biggest asset manager in the world, has recently been buying a lot of Bitcoin, which has given the asset class a lot of support. Without a doubt, it views Bitcoin as a long-term investment and a safeguard against the strain of growing inflation.

The asset management added to the number of shares it bought for its global allocation fund of its spot Bitcoin ETF (IBIT), according to the most recent SEC filing. For its own funds, BlackRock is progressively growing the amount of Bitcoin it owns. The company disclosed on Friday that, as of July 31, it owned 198,874 shares of IBIT, a substantial increase from the 43,000 shares it had in June, according to a portfolio filing for its Global Allocation Fund.

Since its introduction nine months ago, the BlackRock BTC ETF has attracted inflows totaling over $21.3 billion, making it the market leader.

Spot Ethereum ETF inflows show why ETH whale selloff is no big concern

Despite the Ethereum whales’ relentless sell-offs over the last week, the spot Ethereum ETF inflows have kept the price of Ethereum from dropping.

Following a few weeks of sluggish demand, the increase in global liquidity following the Fed rate reduction has caused inflows into the spot Ethereum ETF to spike once more. Following a weak beginning to the week, investments into spot Ether ETF have started up again. Institutions are reexamining the Ethereum investment product in the midst of the market’s liquidity pump. Therefore, despite the ETH whale sell-offs over the last week, the price of Ethereum has been steady.

Spot Ethereum ETF inflows surge past $85M

After many weeks of withdrawals, the total amount of money invested in spot Ether ETFs increased this week to over $85 million. This occurs as the price of Ethereum continues to rise, reaching $2,700 and aiming for the next surge to $3,000.

The spot Ethereum (ETH) ETF saw inflows of $58 million on Friday, September 27, with Fidelity FETH seeing the most inflows at $42.5 million. According to statistics from Farside Investors, Grayscale ETHE had $10.7 million in withdrawals, while BlackRock’s ETHA ranked second with more than $11.5 million.

The Ether ETFs experienced $80 million in withdrawals earlier this week, primarily from Grayscale’s ETHE. But BlackRock took the lead the next day in restarting inflows into the investment products.

The current inflows coincide with the weekly Ethereum whale’s persistent sell-offs.

ETH whale selloff continues

Despite inflows into the Ethereum ETF, institutions have been selling their ETH holdings during the most recent price increase, according to the most recent on-chain statistics. According to LookonChain statistics, two significant organizations offloaded Ethereum (ETH).

Just seven hours ago, 11,800 ETH worth $31.88 million were put into Coinbase from a wallet connected to Cumberland. Similarly, six hours earlier, ParaFi Capital took $5,134,00 worth of Ethereum out of Lido and put it into Coinbase Prime.

However, after a break of almost four months, an old Ethereum whale wallet paid out 12,979 ETH for $34.3 million this week. When Ethereum was only worth $7.074 per coin in 2016, this whale first removed 21,632 ETH from ShapeShift and Poloniex. This whale has sold 15,879 ETH in total since May 2024, bringing in $43.5 million at an average price of $2,739 per ETH.

It appears that the recent week’s ETH whale selloff has been partially offset by inflows into spot Ethereum ETFs.

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