Changpeng Zhao pleads guilty to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) allegations and resigns from his position as CEO of Binance, the exchange with the highest trading volume on the planet. The decision is part of a $4 billion deal between the exchange and state-owned entities.

According to a report by The Wall Street Journal, CZ has reportedly pleaded guilty to money laundering charges brought by the Department of Justice, which alleges that CZ operated an unregistered exchange and deceived investors by using a Swiss-based fund owned by the businessman with the aim of inflating trading volume on the U.S. platform Binance.

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has filed charges against Binance for offering to sell cryptocurrency derivatives and futures without being registered with the CFTC.

The SEC is not involved in the million-dollar settlement, which charged CZ and Binance with 13 counts of violating federal laws in June.

On Tuesday, CZ would testify in federal court in Seattle, the report said, to present his version of an investigation that began in 2018.

Bloomberg had reported on the possibility of CZ and Binance reaching a $4 billion settlement on Monday, which would put an end to the investigation. In the process, Binance reportedly shared files and messages related to its customers in late 2020, according to Reuters.