On Wednesday, the cryptocurrency market witnessed a downturn, with Bitcoin experiencing a 3.26% drop, bringing its value to $36,343.
This decline is attributed to the recent developments involving Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, who has admitted guilt in violating US anti-money laundering laws.
As part of a $4.3 billion settlement to conclude a year-long investigation into Binance’s operations, Zhao is stepping down as the CEO.
Ether also faced a 2.63% decrease, resulting in a $36 loss, with its current trading value at $1,977.
Binance Coin (BNB), the native token of Binance, recorded a substantial 11.69% decrease, now trading at $232 compared to yesterday’s $270.
In the last 24 hours, the US Department of Justice imposed a historic fine of over $4 billion on Binance.
This penalty contributes to a 2.45% drop in the overall cryptocurrency market cap, now standing at $1.38 trillion.
Other major cryptocurrencies, including Tether, Ripple, Solana, Cardano, Dogecoin, Tron, Chainlink, Polygon, Avalanche, Polkadot, Litecoin, Shiba Inu, and Bitcoin Cash, also experienced losses alongside BTC, ETH, and BNB.
Despite this, Uniswap, Iota, and Braintrust emerged as profit-makers. With the decline in BNB value, decentralized exchange (DEX) tokens like SNX (+2.4%) and DYDX (+7.0%) may see increased attention.
In broader economic news, the US Federal Reserve’s Meeting Minutes indicated a cautious policy stance without hinting at a rate cut.
