Binance’s $4.3 Billion Settlement Sets Record for DOJ Criminal Recoveries, Signals Stricter U.S. Crypto Regulations
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The U.S. Attorney’s Office for Western Washington has set a new record for money recovered from criminal cases, thanks mainly to Binance’s big settlement.
On February 12, the office said it collected $1.5 billion in criminal cases for the 2024 financial year, with most of it coming from Binance’s legal issues.
Binance's Billion-Dollar Settlement Fuels Record DOJ Criminal Recoveries
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington has secured a record in criminal recoveries, largely driven by Binance’s settlement. pic.twitter.com/L7xAwOXEkF— D☢zzer🔥🧙♂️,🧙♂️Anomage (@megakolaps) February 15, 2025
Binance, the biggest cryptocurrency exchange in the world, admitted to breaking several financial laws. These included not registering as a money-transfer business and not following the Bank Secrecy Act, which requires financial companies to prevent illegal activities like money laundering.
Because of these violations, Binance agreed to pay a huge $4.3 billion settlement. Out of this amount, $1.5 billion in criminal fines went through the Western District of Washington. U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman said this case is important because it shows that crypto companies can be held responsible if they don’t follow the rules.
Binance's $1.5B fine makes up a huge chunk of the DOJ's record-breaking $4.3B penalties in 2024. 🤑💼 The scale of this is wild. pic.twitter.com/dkGJEr4mjL
— TradeDucky (@tradeducky) February 13, 2025
Therefore, this settlement signals stricter U.S. crypto regulations, increasing compliance pressure on exchanges. It may reduce investor confidence, cause market volatility, and lead to changes in global crypto trading practices.
U.S. Tightens Crypto Regulations as Binance Settlement Sends Warning to Exchanges
It is also worth mentioning that most of the criminal money recovered in the district came from Binance’s penalty, but the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) also settled other financial crime cases. The action against Binance shows that the U.S. government is becoming stricter about cryptocurrency regulations, sending a clear message to other crypto exchanges to follow the rules.
At the same time, Binance and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have asked for a 60-day break in their ongoing lawsuit. This request comes after the SEC created a special crypto task force under Acting Chairman Mark Uyeda. Some believe this could mean the SEC might take a softer approach to crypto regulations in the future.
Binance Exits U.S. Market as Co-Founder Faces Prison, DOJ Recovers Millions from Financial Cases
Moreover, Binance agreed to completely leave the U.S. market as part of its settlement with the government. The company’s co-founder and former CEO, Changpeng Zhao, also stepped down from his role. He was sentenced to four months in prison, fined $50 million, and banned from having any involvement with Binance for the next three years.
Apart from the Binance case, the U.S. Attorney’s Office also recovered money from other financial cases. This included $8.8 million in fines from civil cases, $3.8 million in criminal restitution, which is money paid to victims of financial crimes, and $2.8 million from seized assets. This recovered money will be used to help victims and support law enforcement efforts.
