Former Binance CEO CZ: I Will Do My Time — Crypto Industry Has Entered a New Phase

Following his sentencing to four months in jail in the U.S. on Tuesday, former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, also known as CZ, addressed the crypto community via social media platform X.

“I would like to thank everyone for your care and support, be it writing letters, showing support on X, or in any other form. They all mean a lot to me and keep me strong. I will do my time, conclude this phase, and focus on the next chapter of my life (education),” the former Binance boss wrote, adding:

I will remain a passive investor (and holder) in crypto. Our industry has entered a new phase. Compliance is super important.

“A silver lining of this whole process is that Binance has been under the microscope. And funds are SAFU,” he noted.

Zhao pleaded guilty to money laundering violations in November last year. Initially, U.S. prosecutors recommended a 36-month sentence for him. As part of his agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), CZ stepped down as CEO of Binance. Furthermore, the U.S. has imposed a $4.3 billion penalty on Binance, and Zhao agreed to pay a $50 million fine.

CZ reportedly remarked in court: “I’m sorry … I believe the first step of taking responsibility is to fully recognize the mistakes … Here I failed to implement an adequate anti-money laundering program … I realize now the seriousness of that mistake.”

Prior to his sentencing, Zhao sent a letter to the presiding judge in his case, expressing remorse for his “poor decisions” and taking “full responsibility” for his actions. “In hindsight, I should have focused on implementing compliance changes at Binance from the get-go, and I did not. There is no excuse for my failure to establish the necessary compliance controls at Binance. I wish I could change that part of Binance’s story. But under my direction, Binance has now implemented the most stringent anti-money laundering controls of any non-U.S. exchange, and those controls have been in place since 2022,” he wrote.

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