BNB Price Plummets 10% as Changpeng Zhai Pleads Guilty and Steps Down as Binance CEO

The Binance Coin price has dropped 10% over the last 24 hours to trade at $236 as of 1:30 a.m. EST following the news that Binance had reached a $4 billion settlement with the SEC which also requires Changepeng Zhao to step down as CEO.

On Tuesday, the US Department of Justice (DoJ) reported that Zhao has agreed to step down as Binance CEO. The Crypto Enforcement Action announcement by the DoJ involves a $4.3 billion settlement with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), in which Binance admitted to being used "to funnel money to Hamas".

Hours later, Zhao confirmed his resignation as CEO of the world's leading crypto exchange by trading volume in a post on X admitting that he "made mistakes, and I must take responsibility".

In the same post, CZ revealed that "@_RichardTeng, our now former Global Head of Regional Markets, has been named the new CEO of Binance today."

Teng accepted his appointment as Binance CEO with "honor and with the deepest humility" saying that he is committed to continuing to "meet and exceed the expectations of stakeholders while achieving our core mission, the freedom of money."

Teng brings to his new role a wealth of experience with core areas of regulation and compliance standing out. Before joining Binance as the head of the Financial Services Regulatory Authority at Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), he was chief regulatory officer of the Singapore Exchange (SGX). He had also spent 13 years with the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).

Binance Price Bleeds as Areas Below $200 Come into the Picture

Before the Nov. 21 shocking news from the DoJ, the Binance Coin price had been trading within a tight range stretching from $240 to $255 since Nov. 6. Yesterday's sell-off saw BNB drop as much as 13% to set a swing low at $223 losing key support levels including major moving averages.

Although the exchange token has tried to reclaim these levels, it is still under threat with bears determined to move it lower. At the time of writing, BNB was sitting on immediate support provided by the 50-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA) at $232.

A daily candlestick close below this level would see the crypto drop first toward the 100-day EMA at $228 and later to the $223 swing low. Lower than that, BNB price could drop to see solace from the $200 support floor. This is where the downside could be capped in the short term.

BNB/USD Daily Chart

Supporting this pessimistic outlook was the Relative Strength Index (RSI) position below the middle line. The price strength at 48 suggested that the market conditions still favored the downside.

Contrastingly, the RSI was facing upwards, suggesting that the buyers had not given up on defending the sell-off. If buying increases from the current level, BNB could rise from the current level toward $240 and later to $255. The Binance Coin price could continue trading within this range for a few days before determining the next move.