Binance Coin (BNB) made significant gains of over 7% in the last day, following reports from Bloomberg that the United States Department of Justice is in negotiations with Binance to settle its investigation into the company for an estimated $4 billion. This news caused BNB to spike 6% to $262 in just 30 minutes, as reported by Cointelegraph Markets Pro. However, it dropped to $252 four hours later before spiking again to $266, reaching its highest price since June 7th.
The investigation being resolved by the potential $4 billion settlement reportedly involves alleged sanctions violations, money laundering, and fraud. This news comes just two days after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a lawsuit against Binance and its CEO, Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, alleging violations of various securities laws.
According to the latest data, BNB is among the top 75 largest cryptocurrencies by market cap and has experienced the highest 24-hour price increase. It currently holds the position of the fourth largest token with a market cap exceeding $40 billion. Despite this recent price pump, BNB is still down 61.4% from its all-time high of $686 on May 10, 2021, but has seen a 6.5% increase year-to-date.
One potential scenario for the settlement involves Binance paying the $4 billion fine and agreeing to operate in the U.S. under certain conditions. An announcement regarding a possible agreement could be made by the end of the month, according to the Bloomberg report. If Binance follows through with the payment, it will be one of the largest penalties ever paid in a criminal cryptocurrency case.
The news of the settlement also had ripple effects on social media, with a tweet showing the market cap of BNB increasing by over $4 billion from the post-headline low. With this level of market movement, it’s clear that the potential resolution of the DOJ investigation is having a significant impact on Binance and its associated coin.
In related news, Binance recently launched its Web3 wallet, catering to its 150 million registered users, indicating that despite ongoing legal challenges, the company continues to move forward with its product offerings and user base.
It will certainly be interesting to follow the developments of this case and observe how it affects the future operations and market performance of Binance and its associated cryptocurrency. Given its significant market cap and position as one of the largest tokens, the outcome of this settlement could have lasting implications for the overall cryptocurrency market.
As the situation continues to unfold, investors and industry stakeholders will be closely monitoring the progress of the DOJ investigation and potential settlement to gauge the future trajectory of BNB and the broader cryptocurrency landscape. Regardless of the eventual outcome, the resolution of this case is likely to have a lasting impact on the cryptocurrency industry as a whole.