Former Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao faced a sentence of four months in prison on April 30 for violating U.S. money laundering laws after several years of investigations by American authorities. In court, Judge Richard Jones noted the lack of evidence suggesting Zhao's awareness of illegal activities at Binance, rejecting the Department of Justice's proposal to extend the prison term.

During the period from 2018 to 2024, Binance came under scrutiny from various agencies such as the Department of Justice (DOJ), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), with multi-billion dollar fines imposed alongside the legal battles.

• In February 2018, the Department of Justice began probing Binance's compliance with U.S. Anti-Money Laundering laws.
• The Commodity Futures Trading Commission investigated Binance's offering of crypto derivatives to U.S. customers in March 2021.
• Binance Holdings and Binance.US were under the SEC investigation in February 2022 for their connections with trading firms.
• By March 2023, the SEC and CFTC accused Binance and CZ of trading irregularities and market manipulation.
• In May of the same year, the DOJ launched an investigation into Binance for potential U.S. sanctions violations.
• The SEC sued Binance and CZ in June 2023 for securities law violations, with allegations including wash trading and fund commingling.
• Binance faced a potential bank run expressed by the DOJ in August 2023, and by September, Binance.US saw significant layoffs and CEO departures.
• In November 2023, CZ stepped down as CEO after a $4.3 billion settlement with U.S. authorities, pleading guilty to one felony charge.

As CZ admitted his mistakes and took responsibility, Richard Teng succeeded him as Binance CEO. The legal battles and settlements marked a significant chapter in Binance's history.