Bitcoin (BTC) price falls below $36,500 after Zhao pleads guilty to money laundering violations

The price of Bitcoin (BTC) has fallen below $36,500 after Binance’s former CEO, Changpeng Zhao, pleaded guilty to money laundering violations. The news of Zhao’s plea deal caused a sell-off in the cryptocurrency market, with Bitcoin falling as much as 9%.

Zhao’s plea deal is part of a larger settlement between Binance and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). In the settlement, Binance has agreed to pay a $4.3 billion fine and to implement a number of reforms to its anti-money laundering (AML) and know-your-customer (KYC) practices.

The DOJ’s investigation into Binance found that the company had failed to implement adequate AML and KYC procedures, which allowed criminals to use the platform to launder money and evade sanctions. The DOJ also found that Binance had failed to disclose its true ownership structure and had engaged in deceptive marketing practices.

Zhao’s plea deal is a significant blow to Binance, which is the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange. The company has already been facing a number of regulatory challenges in recent months, and the settlement with the DOJ is likely to make it even more difficult for Binance to operate in certain jurisdictions.

The fall in Bitcoin’s price is also a sign of the broader selloff in the cryptocurrency market. The total cryptocurrency market cap has fallen by over $100 billion in the past week, as investors have become increasingly concerned about the regulatory risks facing the industry.

Despite the recent sell-off, some analysts believe that Bitcoin’s price could rebound in the long term. They argue that the cryptocurrency is still a relatively new asset class, and that it has the potential to become a mainstream form of payment.

However, other analysts are more cautious. They argue that the cryptocurrency market is still highly speculative, and that there is a risk of further losses in the short term.

Overall, the fall in Bitcoin’s price is a sign of the growing regulatory scrutiny facing the cryptocurrency industry. The settlement between Binance and the DOJ is a major milestone in this regard, and it is likely to have a significant impact on the industry as a whole.