Binance fallout ‘opportunity to start a new chapter for this industry’: Coinbase CEO

Comments come as Binance is set to pay and forfeit $4.3 billion to US regulators, while Changpeng Zhao agrees to step down

article-image

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong | Source: TechCrunch "775208327GB00107_TechCrunch" (CC license)

share

Amid guilty pleas by Binance and its founder, Changpeng Zhao, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said the developments could spur greater regulatory certainty going forward.  

“Today’s news reinforces that doing it the hard way was the right decision,” Armstrong said in a Tuesday X post.

The post came at roughly 3 pm ET — the original scheduled time for a Department of Justice press conference to announce “significant cryptocurrency enforcement actions.”

Read more: Yellen: Historic Binance settlement “sends message” to crypto industry

According to an indictment unsealed Tuesday, Zhao agreed to step down as chief executive and will plead guilty to “violating and causing a financial institution to violate” the Bank Secrecy Act. 

In a statement on X, Zhao said “Binance will continue to grow and excel with the deep bench it has” — naming former global head of regional markets Richard Teng as CEO.

Binance agreed to plead guilty to operating as an unlicensed money transmitting business and failing to comply with registration requirements. It is set to pay a $1.8 billion fine and forfeit $2.5 billion to the government.

“We now have an opportunity to start a new chapter for this industry,” Armstrong added in the X post. “We took a lot of arrows operating here in the US due to the lack of regulatory clarity, and my hope is that today’s news serves as a catalyst to finally achieve that.”

Coinbase became a public company in 2021 “to increase transparency and raise the bar on trust” Armstrong noted. Still, the company is engaged in a legal battle with the Securities and Exchange Commission for allegedly operating as an unregistered exchange — charges the company has denied.

“This industry should be built right here in America, in a compliant way, under US law,” Armstrong said. “We’re going to stay here in the US because we believe in economic freedom and that the US democratic system will eventually get this right.”

Industry executives told Blockworks Tuesday that the Binance settlement, and Zhao stepping down, could help pave the way for a bull market cycle.

Bobby Zagotta, US CEO of crypto exchange Bitstamp, applauded the DOJ’s efforts “to establish a level playing field” in a Tuesday statement.

“I express hope for the development of a robust regulatory framework in the US, preventing fraudulent activities by bad actors such as Binance and FTX, while fostering the growth of compliant crypto firms,” Zagotta said.

Tags

Upcoming Events

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

Industry City | Brooklyn, NY

TUES - THURS, JUNE 24 - 26, 2025

Permissionless IV serves as the definitive gathering for crypto’s technical founders, developers, and builders to come together and create the future.If you’re ready to shape the future of crypto, Permissionless IV is where it happens.

Brooklyn, NY

SUN - MON, JUN. 22 - 23, 2025

Blockworks and Cracked Labs are teaming up for the third installment of the Permissionless Hackathon, happening June 22–23, 2025 in Brooklyn, NY. This is a 36-hour IRL builder sprint where developers, designers, and creatives ship real projects solving real problems across […]

recent research

Featured.png

Research

Helium stands at a pivotal moment in its evolution as a decentralized wireless network, balancing rapid growth, economic restructuring, and global expansion. With accelerated growth in domestic DAUs and Hotspots supporting its network, Helium is leveraging strategic partnerships and innovative proposals to scale internationally. The recent implementation of HIP 138, “Return to HNT,” has unified its token economy under HNT, simplifying participation and strengthening liquidity, while HIP 139’s phase-out of CBRS refocuses efforts on scalable Wi-Fi offload. Meanwhile, governance shifts under HIP 141 raise questions about centralization as Nova Labs consolidates control over the roadmap.

article-image

The DeFi Education Fund has ideas on how the crypto-friendly SEC can bring Commissioner Peirce’s vision to life

article-image

“Be prepared to do more with less,” Framework Ventures’ Michael Anderson said

article-image

Q1 may have been “frustrating,” but things are looking brighter for Q2

article-image

Tokens worth 20% of the current supply of the TRUMP memecoin launched by the president are set to be unlocked tomorrow

article-image

A crypto-industry lawsuit is “moot” now that Joint Resolution 25 has been signed into law

article-image

Fed Chair Powell assured markets that the labor market is in “good place,” dependent on price stability