LAUNCH | Leading South African Exchange, VALR, Launches BTC and USDT Futures Tra...

Binance CEO, Changpeng Zhao (CZ), is stepping down from his role after admitting to engaging in anti-money laundering, unlicensed money transmitting, and sanctions violations.

Zhao entered into a plea deal with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the cryptocurrency exchange he led will pay more than $4 billion in fines and other penalties, while in addition to stepping down, CZ will pay $200 million in fines.

According to CZ , he will be replaced by Richard Teng, who formerly served as Global Head of Regional Markets, as the company looks to chart a new future.

Today, I stepped down as CEO of Binance. Admittedly, it was not easy to let go emotionally. But I know it is the right thing to do. I made mistakes, and I must take responsibility. This is best for our community, for Binance, and for myself.

Binance is no longer a baby. It is…

— CZ Binance (@cz_binance) November 21, 2023

Following a prolonged investigation, U.S. authorities led by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)  have accused Binance of permitting illicit transactions on its platform, allegedly enabling various illegal activities such as child sex abuse, narcotics, and financing for terrorist organizations like ISIS, Al Qaeda, and Hamas’s Al-Qassam Brigades.

“Binance became the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange in part because of the crimes it committed – now it is paying one of the largest corporate penalties in US history,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement.

“When Binance first launched, it did not have compliance controls adequate for the company that it was quickly becoming, and it should have. Binance grew at an extremely fast pace globally, in a new and evolving industry that was in the early stages of regulation, and Binance made misguided decisions along the way. Today, Binance takes responsibility for this past chapter.”

– Binance

Zhao could potentially face a maximum prison term of 10 years, but the expected sentence is anticipated to be considerably less, possibly around 18 months, in accordance with federal guidelines. The final sentencing decision rests with the judge overseeing the case.

Binance, which has actively been enhancing its compliance and security measures, will have to forfeit $1.35 billion in unlawfully obtained profits and settle a $1.35 billion civil monetary penalty to the CFTC.

“Binance turned a blind eye to its legal obligations in the pursuit of profits,” Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a statement.

“Its willful failures allowed money to flow to terrorists, cybercriminals and child abusers through its platform.”

The U.S. Federal government also issued a warning to the rest of the cryptocurrency industry:

.@SecYellen's message (threat) to the crypto industry pic.twitter.com/yFTkaQ6XEb

— Bankless (@BanklessHQ) November 21, 2023

Serving as a warning to other crypto players, Janet Yellen, the Secretary of Treasury, United States, said:

“Today’s actions hold Binance accountable for its wrongdoing by ensuring Binance leaves the U.S. market and sending a clear message to bad actors in the virtual currency industry.

If virtual currency exchanges and financial technology firms wish to realize the tremendous benefits of being part of the U.S. financial system and serving U.S. customers, they must play by the rules. And if they do not, the U.S. government will act.”

– U.S. Treasury Secretary, Janet Yellen

Today we announced the largest enforcement action in Treasury’s history against Binance, the world’s largest virtual currency exchange. https://t.co/LJ78JRN1z8

— Secretary Janet Yellen (@SecYellen) November 21, 2023

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VALR, Africa’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, has launched perpetual futures trading, featuring the world’s first Bitcoin and USDT perpetual futures paired against the South African Rand.

With the introduction of the BTC/ZAR and USDT/ZAR perpetual pairs, VALR has also listed the BTC/USDT perpetual future, offering an alternative to the likes of Binance, ByBit and Kraken.

The future is closer than you think… pic.twitter.com/wd0gyxNlP7

— VALR (@VALRdotcom) November 14, 2023

Unlike their counterpart in traditional finance, perpetual futures have no expiry date, allow for more sophisticated risk-management strategies, and have become the most traded crypto-related instrument, accounting for over 75% of global crypto trading volumes.

VALR will initially allow up to 5x leverage across all perpetual markets, providing increased capital efficiency for traders.

“We’ve built what we believe is the most seamless futures product in the entire industry. Our customers can trade across spot, spot margin and perpetual futures markets, all from a single account, utilizing a single source of collateral. Trading perpetuals has never been so smooth,” said Gianluca Sacco, VALR’s Chief Operating Officer.

The introduction of perpetual futures on VALR follows the successful launch of spot margin trading as well as the crypto exchange’s recent partnership with Visa, the world’s largest payment network. VALR also received approval to offer crypto services in Europe and is actively pursuing licenses in Mauritius and Dubai, having received initial approval from VARA, Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority.

Farzam Ehsani, VALR Co-Founder and CEO, added:

“We have already received feedback from our institutional customers that what we’ve built puts VALR in a strong position to compete as one of the up-and-coming global exchanges. This is testament to the incredible amount of effort and dedication that our entire team has put into building this world-class product.”

For the initial phase, perpetual futures trading will be exclusively available on VALR.com, with mobile app support coming soon.

VALR, established in 2018 has already processed over $10 billion in trading volume and secured $55 million in equity funding. It serves over half a million retail customers and over 900 corporate and institutional clients. Its investors include several prominent global names such as Coinbase Ventures, Pantera Capital and Avon Ventures, a venture capital fund affiliated with the parent company of Fidelity Investments.

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