Kenne Michael 
Coinbase (COIN) shares have reached their highest level in 18 months after the guilty pleas of former CEO Changpeng Zhao and rival exchange Binance for money laundering and sanctions violations within the United States.
According to TradingView data, Coinbase closed at $119.77 on Nov. 27, its highest price since May 5, 2022, when it closed at $114.25.
However, little movement has been observed in after-hours trading.
The figure places Coinbase shares up around 256.5% year-to-date, but they are still 65% below their all-time peak of nearly $343 on Nov. 12, 2021.
A week has passed since Binance and its founder, Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, pleaded guilty to money laundering, violating U.S. sanctions, and operating an unlicensed money-transmitting enterprise.
However, Coinbase’s share price increase coincides with this development.
Meanwhile, Zhao and Binance reached a $4.3 billion settlement with the United States, which stipulated Zhao’s resignation as CEO and Binance’s submission to DOJ and Treasury compliance monitors for a maximum of five years.
Coinbase has also amassed a substantial windfall in the form of U.S. spot Bitcoin and Ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs) pending approval over the past year.
According to an analysis by Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart, 13 of the 19 spot crypto ETFs pending with the Securities and Exchange Commission are held in custody by Coinbase.
On the other hand, the SEC has filed a lawsuit against Coinbase, alleging that the exchange failed to register with the regulator and listed several tokens violating U.S. securities laws.
Coinbase had contested the SEC’s jurisdiction over cryptocurrencies and attempted to dismiss the lawsuit.