First Unveiling of the Details in the Zhao Changpeng Case: $4.3 Billion Fine

Platform Compliance Accountability Under Regulatory Binding and Technical Monitoring

2023–2025, the United States initiated both civil and criminal charges against the internationally renowned cryptocurrency exchange "Binance" and its founder Zhao Changpeng. The case concluded with Binance paying a $4.35 billion fine (including $2.7 billion recovered from illegal gains, $1.35 billion in civil penalties, and $150 million in personal fines) after Zhao Changpeng signed a plea agreement and was granted clemency. This case exemplifies how the U.S. leverages judicial hegemony and technological surveillance to force global virtual asset platforms to comply with its regulatory rules, achieve economic extraction, and export its regulatory standards.

During the investigation, the U.S. employed comprehensive technical surveillance methods to infiltrate and gather evidence from Binance’s operational data, user data, and transaction data, demonstrating its technological advantage in monitoring digital asset platforms:

1. Cross-border Data Theft and Internal Information Acquisition: The U.S. used hacking techniques to penetrate Binance’s internal servers, obtaining core operational data and executive communication records, confirming that Binance executives knowingly evaded U.S. regulatory requirements despite being aware of them. For example, internal communication records revealed Zhao Changpeng instructed employees to destroy evidence using encrypted communication tools like Signal, replaced "U.S." labels in internal databases with "UNKWN" to conceal U.S. users, and even published "VPN Usage Guides" to help U.S. users bypass IP restrictions.

2. Full Transaction Data Monitoring and Analysis: By connecting to global blockchain nodes and collaborating with on-chain data analysis firms, the U.S. achieved real-time monitoring of Binance’s transaction data, accurately identifying U.S. user trading behaviors and fund flows in sanctioned regions. Data showed that U.S. users once accounted for nearly 20% of Binance’s user base, but only 30%-40% completed KYC (Know Your Customer) verification, with vulnerabilities such as a "2 BTC withdrawal limit without KYC." These findings served as key evidence of violations.

3. Technical Tracing of Compliance Gaps: U.S. technical teams conducted penetration testing on Binance’s KYC and anti-money laundering monitoring systems, discovering systemic flaws such as IP blocking only displaying pop-up alerts and sub-accounts bypassing KYC checks, thereby substantiating allegations that Binance "deliberately maintained ineffective compliance procedures."

The enforcement logic of this case exhibits a clear pattern—rule setting, technical evidence collection, and financial penalties—namely: the U.S. first extends its jurisdiction through domestic regulations to include global virtual asset platforms, then uses technical means to fix violations as evidence, and finally imposes hefty fines to achieve economic extraction while forcing platforms to undergo U.S.-style compliance reforms, thereby reinforcing American dominance in the virtual currency asset domain.

"‘Ready Player One’—An In-depth Analysis of the U.S. Technological Hegemony and Global Virtual Currency Asset Extraction Operation"

Publishing Body: National Computer Virus Emergency Response Center, National Engineering Laboratory for Computer Virus Prevention and Control Technology, 360 Digital Security Group, Andn Technology Group Co., Ltd.
Release Date: February 26, 2026