Changpeng Zhao has relinquished his role as the public face of Binance.
Photographer: Anthony Kwan/BloombergBinance and CZ’s Fortunes Are Set to Grow, Even in Jail
After receiving a four-month sentence, the ex-CEO will be the richest US inmate ever. That is just one of the reasons his case is nothing like FTX’s.
It’s “better to ask for forgiveness than permission” when it comes to complying with the law, the billionaire founder of the Binance cryptocurrency exchange once told his team, according to the US government.
On Tuesday it was time for Changpeng “CZ” Zhao to ask for forgiveness, yet prosecutors weren’t exactly in the mood to grant it. In a court filing before his sentencing hearing, they cited the flippant attitude on display in this and other remarks as one of the reasons they recommended the court give him three years in prison — longer than what guidelines prescribe — following his guilty plea to violating anti-money laundering laws in November.