Binance’s Guilty Pleas Propel Coinbase Shares to New Heights

Coinbase (COIN) shares have reached their highest level in 18 months, following the guilty pleas of Binance and its former CEO Changpeng Zhao in the United States for money laundering and sanctions violations. On November 27th, Coinbase closed at $119.77, marking its highest price since May 5, 2022, when it closed at $114.25, according to data from TradingView. There has been little movement in after-hours trading.

This recent increase in Coinbase’s share price represents a year-to-date gain of approximately 256.5%. However, it’s worth noting that it is still down by 65% from its all-time high of nearly $343 on November 12, 2021.

Coinbase’s share price surge coincides with the recent developments involving Binance and its founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, who pleaded guilty to money laundering, U.S. sanctions violations, and operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business. As part of their settlement with the U.S. authorities, Zhao stepped down as CEO, and Binance agreed to compliance monitoring by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Treasury for up to five years, with a total settlement amount of $4.3 billion.

In the past year, Coinbase has also benefited from the potential approval of U.S. spot Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart’s analysis reveals that Coinbase serves as the custodian for 13 out of the 19 spot crypto ETFs currently awaiting approval by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

However, Coinbase is currently facing a lawsuit from the SEC, which alleges that the exchange failed to register with the regulator and listed several tokens that violated U.S. securities laws. Coinbase has contested the suit and raised questions about the SEC’s authority to regulate the cryptocurrency space.

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