'Fallen kings of cryptocurrencies'.

Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao has become the most influential figure in the world of cryptocurrency to suffer in the past two years, which have been chaotic even by the standards of the highly volatile industry.

Zhao stepped down as CEO of Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, after he and the company pleaded guilty to a grand jury indictment for money laundering in the U.S. and agreed to pay more than $4 billion in fines.

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Born in China in 1977, Zhao moved with his family to Canada in the 1980s and later earned a degree in computer science from McGill University, according to his profile in''Bloomberg's richest people index.

He founded Binance in 2017 in Shanghai and has led the company's dramatic growth into the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world. As a flamboyant celebrity in the cryptocurrency world with 8.7 million subscribers on X, Zhao has become the richest known figure in this new industry. According to Forbes, his fortune will peak at around $65 billion in 2022.

With prestige and wealth came increased scrutiny of Binance's operations as prominent firms in the cryptocurrency world around the world began to fall under a wave of criminal investigations. The U.S. has accused Zhao and Binance of numerous violations, including knowingly making transactions with militant groups such as the Islamic State, as well as in banned''jurisdictions such as North Korea and Iran. They pleaded guilty on Tuesday. The company agreed to total fines of nearly $4.4 billion, while Zhao will pay $50 million, according to court documents.

Zhao has resigned as CEO of Binance, and while he will reportedly retain his shares in the company, he is barred from participating in its affairs. He is expected to be sentenced at a later date. Zhao's fortune, according to Forbes, is $10.2 billion as of Wednesday.

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If Zhao was the richest and most influential person in the world of cryptocurrency, Sam Bankman-Fried was by far the most famous.

Born into a family'.

But he was moving down a dangerous road - his team was using clients' money for everything from buying luxury real estate to covering the risky activities of an affiliate of Alameda Research. It all came crashing down when those activities were revealed to the media in''thing in the world of cryptocurrency, attracting billions of dollars in investment and causing a worldwide stir.

The media in South Korea describe him as a 'genius'. But last May, the value of these currencies - advertised as "stable" - collapsed, wiping out some $40 billion in investments and sending shockwaves throughout the industry. That led to more than $500 billion in additional losses in global cryptocurrency markets, industry data indicates.

Experts say Do Kwon, whose full name is Kwon Do-kyeong, was promoting a bloated Ponzi scheme. Aggressive and outspoken on social media, Do Kwon left South Korea before the collapse and spent months on the run. He was arrested in Montenegro this year after trying''s flight using false Costa Rican documents. He faces numerous criminal charges in the United States and South Korea.