He has been banned from running Binance for life and said he plans to focus on educating children and charity work. But does this mean that CZ’s cryptocurrency days are really behind it?
Changpeng Zhao was the richest prisoner in the world, with Forbes estimating his net worth at $61.6 billion.
Now, he is a free man from a low-security prison in California on Friday, September 27, after serving four months in prison for admitting that Binance failed to conduct proper know-your-customer checks, which was a violation of the Bank Secrecy Act.
CZ’s initial release date was scheduled for September 29, but given that this day falls on a Sunday according to rules, the warden had the discretion to release him on Friday instead.
Despite the relatively short sentence, the billionaire’s life will be quite different. He enjoyed a cult-like status while overseeing Binance, but has now been banned from executing the exchange for life.
All of this has led to speculation about what CZ will do next. Will he return to cryptocurrency, the industry that made him his vast fortune? Could there be a shift to AI? At his sentencing hearing in April, the 47-year-old said neither was a priority, declaring:
“In the next chapter of my life, I want to provide opportunities for others – our youth. “I am building a platform to provide free, high-quality education to underprivileged children around the world.”
A website called Giggle Academy was created for this purpose. However, at first glance, it appears that it is still in the pre-launch stage.
Binance wishes CZ well and made it clear that there are no hard feelings following Richard Teng’s succession as CEO.
“We are happy that CZ is home with his family. Although he does not manage or run Binance, we look forward to seeing what he does next.”
There’s no doubt the entrepreneur will want to update X’s 8.8 million followers, who had a prominent presence before his incarceration.
The future of CZ
Activists claim the punishment CZ received was little more than a slap on the wrist. Better Markets previously claimed there was “overwhelming evidence” to suggest that CZ “knowingly, knowingly and knowingly designed and operated Binance as a cryptocurrency money laundering superstore for the most dastardly global criminals.”
His four months in prison is well short of the maximum 18 months specified in sentencing guidelines and far from the three years sought by U.S. prosecutors. A former Binance employee who did not want to be named told crypto.news:
“It seems like a pretty short sentence for the crimes he was tried for. It feels like another example of financial criminals not being prosecuted long enough.”
They went on to argue that, given their personal knowledge of CZ and his character, four months was not enough for the corrupt businessman to learn a lesson from his crimes.
“I think he will see this as a small but unfortunate mistake on his path to building his empire.”
A former Binance employee said he is not sure if CZ will emerge in the cryptocurrency industry. However, he noted that some of his closest lieutenants have now assumed leadership of the exchange.
“Even if he never ‘works’ in the cryptocurrency space again, the fact that He Yi is still at Binance means that CZ will never be far from the cryptocurrency space.”
He Yi is the co-founder and Chief Customer Service Officer of Binance and has been a CZ partner since 2014.
But there is a bigger question here. How much damage has Changpeng Zhao caused to the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange? The platform has been banned in some of the world’s largest economies in recent years, including the UK and the US. When asked whether his time in prison would have a lasting impact on the platform, our source said:
“Actually, I don’t think so. Compared to SBF and FTX, no one seems to remember the crimes of CZ and Binance.”
There is no doubt that CZ’s top priority now is to begin repairing its image. However, both CZ and Binance will continue to face legal challenges in the coming months.
Just a few years ago, any mention of potential headwinds would have attracted a “4,” the number CZ uses as an abbreviation for “FUD” (fear, uncertainty, doubt).
No longer part of the empire he helped build, Changpeng Zhao could not have been a more humble figure.