Questions about Binance’s future emerge amid CZ’s departure as chair

• CZ’s interest will be restricted to economic interest as he steps away from governance.
• Binance’s market share remains below 50%.

In a recent announcement regarding changes at Binance US, the US arm stressed that it was different from Binance.com. This clarification comes in the wake of the latest developments surrounding the exchange.

Binance US separates itself from the global arm

According to Binance US, the American branch of the exchange is distinct from its global counterpart. Also, the US arm was not implicated in the indictment faced by the global arm from the Department of Justice (DOJ) and other US regulatory bodies.

In addition, Binance’s CEO, Chanpeng Zhao (CZ), is set to step down as the Chairman of the Board of Directors. 

Also, not only is he leaving this role, but he is also transferring his voting rights through a proxy arrangement. The move would signal his disengagement from the governance of the US exchange.

This decision follows CZ’s guilty plea for failing to maintain an effective anti-money laundering program during his tenure as CEO. There is also an ongoing debate about whether CZ should be permitted to travel to the United Arab Emirates while awaiting sentencing. 

Also, while Binance US was not part of the settlement with the DOJ, it is currently facing a lawsuit filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission. This legal action revolves around an investigation into whether Binance US had backdoor access to control user assets.

Binance’s market share remains below 50%

Recent data from Kaiko showed a decline in Binance’s market share, a trend attributed to recent developments. At the start of the year, Binance commanded a market share of over 60%.

While this figure gradually decreased over the year, it was around the 50% mark. However, in light of recent events, Binance’s market share has gone below 50% and has struggled to recover.

This indicates that other exchanges, centralized and decentralized, have successfully captured a portion of the once-dominant market share.

BNB yet to recover from the dip

Examining the daily timeframe chart reveals that Binance Coin (BNB) has yet to recover from the decline on 21st November. The decline, surpassing 10%, coincided with the announcement of CZ’s indictment and departure from Binance.

Subsequent to this announcement, the price fell from around $250 to the $230 range.

Source: TradingView

 Read Binance Coin (BNB) Price Prediction 2023-24

As of this writing, there has been a slight increase of less than 1% in value, with BNB trading at around $230.

It’s noteworthy that both the short and long-moving averages (yellow and blue lines) continued to serve as resistance levels.