Zhao Changpeng was sentenced to four months in prison and became one of the richest prisoners

Changpeng Zhao (CZ), founder of the Binance exchange, attended a sentencing hearing at the U.S. District Court in Seattle on April 30. After several hours of deliberation, Judge Richard Jones sentenced him to four months in prison, far less than the 36 months prosecutors had requested. The result makes him one of the richest inmates in a U.S. federal prison, and despite the legal case, his control of Binance and about $43 billion in personal assets remain intact.

Posted on X after sentencing

The date and location of CZ's execution will be announced by the Bureau of Prisons and the Probation Office. Meanwhile, CZ posted on the X platform at around 8:30 in the morning, expressing its gratitude for everyone's support:

"I want to thank everyone for their concern and support, whether it's in letters, on the X platform, or any other form of support. These things are very important to me and keep me strong. I will accept the punishment, end this phase, and focus on the next chapter of my life (education).

I will continue to invest in cryptocurrencies as a passive investor (and holder). Our industry has entered a new phase. Compliance is very important.

The silver lining to this whole process is that Binance has been under intense scrutiny. And the money is safe.

The education he refers to is believed to be a learning platform he founded called Giggle Academy, which customizes personalized courses for poor children and those who lack educational resources.

According to the project's concept brief, it mentions that the Giggle Academy's operations will be funded by CZ, but does not disclose the actual amount, saying only that "if it works, CZ is willing to provide the required funding." The project does not accept donations at present, there is sufficient funding at present, and donations may be open in the future. Among them, whether the project that everyone is most concerned about involves crypto tokens, in the introduction, the answer is very clear "NO!" .

Although the initial plan is for free education, this non-profitable model only involves basic education, which is promised to be free forever in the brief, and will only charge for higher education and the job market that may be developed in the future.

Judge: I've never seen so many letters of support

In court, although the prosecution repeatedly stressed that in order to achieve disciplinary purposes and reflect the seriousness of the crime, the judge recommended that the judge increase the sentence, but Judge Jones repeatedly rejected this recommendation. He also mentioned that he had read 161 letters submitted by CZ's relatives and friends, all of which showed mitigating factors. "I have never seen so many letters of support, not just from family, but from people who have known you for a long time," the judge said.

In the end, however, the judge also pointed out that as the CEO of Binance, CZ had failed to properly implement anti-money laundering procedures, which could have had a significant impact on money laundering activities, including drug trafficking and terrorism, and in a statement, CZ acknowledged past mistakes and said that he had fully recognized the importance of a robust KYC/AML process. Said it has tried to resolve the issue and has instructed Binance to work with the U.S. government.