Binance Founder Changpeng Zhao has started his four-month prison at a low-security federal prison in Lompoc, California.
Zhao was sentenced in April of this year after making a guilty plea to money laundering charges on the Binance exchange. Zhao’s legal team at Latham and Watkins has confirmed the commencement of this sentence, according to a report by CNBC.
Binance Founder Starts Prison Sentence
The four-month prison sentence was notably lower than the three years the prosecutors wanted. In his defense, Zhao had requested a five-month probation sentence, but the judge also turned that down.
The crypto community has come out to pour support for Zhao, who has been deemed by many as one of the iconic figures in the industry.
One Reddit user noted that the prison sentence was a good move by CZ as it protected Binance from any potential risk of collapse, as happened with the now-beleaguered FTX exchange. The collapse of FTX prompted calls on the importance of self-custodying Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
“I respect him for taking one for the team rather than putting Binance at risk,” the user said.
If FTX downfall hit Crypto hard, just imagine what would happen if Binance collapsed.
Another user also noted that Zhao had played a notable role in promoting the adoption of the cryptocurrency industry.
In an apology letter to Judge Richard Jones, Zhao outlined his plans post-sentencing. He noted there were many opportunities in the biotech space. He plans on funding small research labs looking to cure diseases.
Zhao is also planning to continue promoting the adoption of the cryptocurrency industry. He plans to leverage blockchain to offer medical care to people worldwide. He noted that since stepping down as Binance’s CEO, he has spoken to several biotech startups to achieve this goal.
Besides biotech, Zhao also plans to invest in education programs in Africa, Southeast Asia, and Europe in hopes of helping the disadvantaged in society.
Changpeng Zhao’s Sentencing
Zhao was sentenced in April this year at a US District Court. Judge Richard Jones handed him a four-month prison sentence. He was also ordered to pay a fine of $50 million.
The sentencing guidelines for his charges recommended a sentence between 12 and 18 months. Before receiving his sentence, Zhao apologized in court, saying he had taken time to reflect on the accusations.
Zha acknowledged that exchange giant Binance failed to take the appropriate measures to implement a solid anti-money laundering (AML) framework. He noted that he only now realized the seriousness of failing to implement the anti-money laundering guidelines.
The sentencing comes after months of tussle between Zhao, Binance, and the US government.
In November last year, Zhao reached a deal with the US government to resolve an investigation into Binance that spanned many years. Zhao later resigned as the CEO of the company following the probe.
As part of a settlement deal with the US government, Zhao had to pay a fine of $4.3 billion. He was also ordered to forfeiture “civil regulatory enforcement actions.”
