The crypto community on social media has greeted the news of the deal between Binance, Changpeng “CZ” Zhao and the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) mostly positively, hoping it removes one of the last remaining obstacles before the long-awaited approval of a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF).
The $4.3 billion settlement between the DOJ and the world’s largest crypto exchange for violating U.S. Anti-Money Laundering laws includes a plea deal with CZ, who has agreed to step down as CEO of Binance.
The news of the deal and CZ’s departure led to a market correction that saw some $175 million worth of leveraged crypto positions liquidated while close to $1 billion in crypto assets flowed out of the crypto exchange.
Over 1 billion dollars of outflows out of @Binance in the last 24 hours pic.twitter.com/nNMa10gtfg
— Pledditor (@Pledditor) November 22, 2023
Apart from a market correction, most crypto community members saw the settlement with the DOJ and CZ’s plea deal as a big win for the exchange and the crypto industry. Many critics had previously claimed the U.S.’s pursuit of Binance would end the crypto exchange’s dominance.
This is the greatest victory of CZ’s life.
Absolute 3D chessmaster.From day 1, the DOJ & SEC have always been Binance’s biggest risk. CZ’s greatest threat. The dragon on the horizon.
Now, after years of uncertainty, the DOJ has finally been neutralized. The dragon is slayed.…
— Cole Garner (@ColeGarnersTake) November 22, 2023
Many others called Binance’s settlement with the DOJ the last step before the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approves a spot Bitcoin (BTC) ETF. Generally, the crypto community appears to see the deal as a win-win scenario for the crypto ecosystem and a bullish catalyst for the next bull run.
Sweet baby Jesus this is bullish! Binance settling with the DOJ removes the bearish scenario. I think the Bitcoin Spot ETF approvals are around the corner.
When we start pumping and euphoria returns, don’t forget to take profits! https://t.co/LCokdV7Y7E
— Tony Edward (Thinking Crypto Podcast) (@ThinkingCrypto1) November 21, 2023
However, not everyone in the crypto community was as bullish on the Binance-DOJ settlement. Some commented that the crypto community is still awaiting action from the SEC against Binance and that the exchange will likely face a harder battle as the agency refuses to settle.
Seeing a ton of bull posts on my timeline.
I don’t think people understand the situation…
It’s obvious that Binance would settle & pay a large fine. But this doesn’t mean it’s all sunshine going forward. Remember that SEC / DOJ had all firepower focused on Binance, now that… pic.twitter.com/cgpDElDqRR
— ImNotTheWolf (@ImNotTheWolf) November 22, 2023
However, the SEC lawsuit is civil, and analysts believe that the DOJ settlement means that Binance and the crypto industry have removed the biggest obstacle to the launch of a bull market.
A few others compared Binance’s settlement with the DOJ to BitMEX, in which its then-CEO Arthur Hayes pleaded guilty to violating Anti-Money Laundering laws and stepped down from his role. He was later sentenced to two years probation, avoiding a possible prison term of six to 12 months.