Enlarge / Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao leaves the US District Court on November 21, 2023 in Seattle. (credit: David Ryder / Stringer | Getty Images North America)

Binance founder Changpeng Zhao has resigned as CEO of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange after agreeing to plead guilty to money laundering violations, the US Department of Justice announced on Tuesday.

The DOJ’s settlement concludes a three-year investigation into Binance that found “willful failures allowed money to flow to terrorists, cybercriminals, and child abusers through its platform,” Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen wrote in a statement. According to the plea agreement, Zhao will pay a $50 million fine, and Binance—which also pled guilty to conspiring to operate an unlicensed money-transmitting business and violating sanctions against Iran, Cuba, and Syria—will pay a $4.3 billion fine.

“Today’s historic penalties and monitorship to ensure compliance with US law and regulations mark a milestone for the virtual currency industry,” Yellen said. “Any institution, wherever located, that wants to reap the benefits of the US financial system must also play by the rules that keep us all safe from terrorists, foreign adversaries, and crime or face the consequences.”