“Binance’s Zhao Changpeng Sentenced to 4 Months in Prison: Is he Already Planning his Post-Release Strategy?”

Why did Zhao Changpeng receive such a lenient sentence?
On April 30th, in the Western District Court of Washington, D.C., Judge Richard Jones sentenced former Binance CEO Zhao Changpeng (CZ) to four months in prison, bringing an end to the highly publicized Zhao Changpeng case that has garnered significant attention within and outside the cryptocurrency industry.
In reality, Zhao Changpeng is very different from FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) because Binance and its founder Zhao Changpeng did not embezzle customer funds. Additionally, unlike SBF who chose to go through a foolish trial instead of surrendering to the court, Zhao Changpeng reached a plea agreement early on, agreeing to pay a $4.3 billion fine and expressing remorse.
During the lengthy 2.5-hour sentencing hearing, the 47-year-old billionaire Zhao Changpeng was not just an ordinary criminal defendant, but rather a philanthropist, do-gooder, first-time offender, and family man who surrendered and accepted whatever might come. Zhao Changpeng’s reputation as a “good person” influenced the judge’s final judgment, leading to a very light sentence of four months, compared to the U.S. Department of Justice’s strong recommendation of a three-year sentence for Zhao Changpeng.
Judge Jones stated that he had read all 161 letters submitted because it was important for him to understand who Zhao Changpeng was. He also mentioned that he had never seen so many letters, not only from family members but also from people who have known Zhao Changpeng for a long time. Jones pointed out that these letters depicted a person driven by motivation, passion, and determination, someone who risked all his net worth just for the success of Binance. The letters clearly showed that Zhao Changpeng is a dedicated family man and cited examples of Binance’s charitable endeavors.
Further reading:
U.S. prosecutors seek a 3-year sentence! Defense team argues for probation, CZ says he is willing to take responsibility for past wrong decisions
In the end, Judge Jones rejected the U.S. Department of Justice’s recommended 36-month sentence and announced a four-month imprisonment for Zhao Changpeng. The U.S. Probation Office will confirm the start date of Zhao Changpeng’s sentence, and Zhao Changpeng stated in court that he would accept any day as the start of his sentence.
Compared to FTX founder SBF, Zhao Changpeng’s fate is clearly much better. SBF was convicted of fraud in March this year for allegedly misusing $8 billion of customer funds and was sentenced to 25 years in prison. Former U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission official John Reed Stark commented that a four-month short imprisonment is only a small price for billionaires like Zhao Changpeng.
Has Zhao Changpeng already started planning for his release?
Zhao Changpeng’s four-month imprisonment may just be a small episode in his life story because even before the verdict was announced, he had already started networking across the United States to plan his next move.
After admitting to money laundering in November 2023, Zhao Changpeng did not sit idly by. Although he cannot return to Dubai, he can still freely travel within the United States, allowing him ample time to travel around the country, establish connections with local entrepreneurs, and lay the foundation for his next move.
According to disclosed information, Zhao Changpeng had a casual dinner with a former U.S. Senator in Montana, visited Telluride, Colorado, and a resort in Utah. Most importantly, Zhao Changpeng also had a meeting with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.
Last month, Zhao Changpeng announced the launch of a new project to promote online education. He also expressed interest in investing in artificial intelligence and biotechnology. Two sources revealed that Zhao Changpeng exchanged contact information with Altman as early as the end of last year and discussed the adjustments involved in global expansion for startups.
Insiders revealed that Zhao Changpeng had a meeting with Altman about a year ago, and they reconnected during the leadership battle at OpenAI in November 2023. A month later, in December 2023, Zhao Changpeng had hot pot with Gu Ronghui, a computer science professor at Columbia University and co-founder of CertiK, a Web3 security company funded by Binance. Gu Ronghui confirmed in an interview that Zhao Changpeng had been in contact with Altman, and both believe that artificial intelligence is of great help to the development of technology and human knowledge. Zhao Changpeng even revealed that he is currently “seeking opportunities” to invest in and support large-scale data centers for AI applications.
As of now, Zhao Changpeng and representatives from OpenAI have refused to comment on their meeting with Altman.
On the other hand, in a letter submitted to the court, Zhao Changpeng revealed that he has been in talks with some biotechnology startups in recent months and plans to focus on disease prevention as the next chapter of his life’s work. Zhao Changpeng said, “I want to help fund small research laboratories with the goal of permanently curing diseases and using blockchain technology to provide medical services to billions of people worldwide.”


In March this year, Zhao Changpeng announced on X platform that he is launching a project called Giggle Academy, a free online learning platform for children. The Giggle Academy website has already released a seven-page “concept document” stating that the platform will involve artificial intelligence, automation, and NFT digital collectibles. It is reported that Giggle Academy is not for profit, and Zhao Changpeng is recruiting a small team to work directly with him, which means that once Zhao Changpeng is released, he is likely to be fully committed to this work and may even achieve significant progress within a year.
Further reading:
Binance custody surpasses $100 billion in assets, capturing 43% market share! Zhao Changpeng and others are not idle, hinting at a mysterious new project
How did the market react to Zhao Changpeng’s four-month sentence?
During Zhao Changpeng’s hearing, BNB experienced an increase and is currently hovering around $580, with a 2.8% decrease in the past 24 hours.
On the other hand, it appears that the sentencing of Zhao Changpeng did not have an impact on the Binance cryptocurrency exchange itself. According to data from Coingecko, Binance remains the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world, with a trading volume of over $23 billion in the past 24 hours, about 4.6 times the trading volume of the second-place exchange Bybit, which is around $5 billion. Additionally, Binance’s monthly website visits reached 101 million, about 2.5 times the 39.1 million visits of second-place Bybit.
With the “shoe dropping” in the sentencing, Zhao Changpeng’s case has finally come to a close. Perhaps due to a fondness for the number “4,” the four-month sentence seems to be an outcome that both Zhao Changpeng and the wider cryptocurrency community can accept, even a “good result.”
After the verdict, Zhao Changpeng’s wife, He Yi, only replied with two words on social media, “Got it.” Everyone seems to understand.
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