Key Points
- Yesterday, Binance’s founder, Changpeng Zhao, was sentenced in Seattle to four months in jail.
- Now, he’s addressing the Court’s decision and his focus on the next chapter of his life – education.
The other day, following a hearing in Seattle, the Court decided that Binance’s founder, Changpeng Zhao, should serve four months in jail.
After prosecutors and CZ’s defense spoke, along with Zhao himself, Judge Richard Jones stated that everything he saw in CZ’s history and characteristics were “of a mitigating nature and a positive nature.”
He then recognized that Zhao came voluntarily to the US and had not previously broken laws, taking significant steps in cooperation with law enforcement.
The Judge made it clear that he didn’t think that Zhao was likely to re-offend but concluded that the scale of his offense was remarkable.
The letters sent to the Court on his behalf played a significant role in the decision.
CZ addresses the Court’s decision and future phase in life
Today, May 1, CZ posted a message on his X account, thanking everyone for their care and support. People close to him, family and supporters, wrote letters and showed support on X and in other forms.
He said that everything means a lot to him and keeps him strong. CZ also addressed the fact that he will do his time and conclude this phase of his life with a future focus on the next chapter – education.
CZ also wrote that he will remain a passive investor and holder in crypto, highlighting the fact that the industry has entered a new phase in which compliance is “super important.”
CZ concluded by saying that a silver lining of the whole process is the fact that Binance has been under the microscope, and now all funds are SAFU.
Not too long ago, Binance revealed that it had converted the entire pool of assets that is held in the emergency fund for users into USDC. The Secure Asset Fund For Users (SAFU) remains part of the ecosystem at $1 billion.
https://twitter.com/cz_binance/status/1785465555899822488
Yesterday, Zhao spoke during the hearing as well, saying that he was sorry and he wanted to take responsibility for his mistakes.
CZ also said that Binance did implement a KYC/AML program, and it’s cooperating with the US government.
He stated that he wants to create a platform for online education for underprivileged kids, which would be rewarding and meaningful.
The sentence of the Seattle Court comes following CZ’s guilty plea from November 2023 regarding the violation of anti-money laundering regulations set in place by the Department of Justice in the US.
