Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, the former CEO of the cryptocurrency exchange Binance, has announced his intention to spend his upcoming four-month incarceration working on a writing project
A magistrate sentenced the former CEO of Binance to four months in federal prison on April 30. However, no reporting date was established during the hearing.
During a hearing on April 30, Judge Richard Jones imposed a four-month penitentiary sentence on Zhao.
In connection with the exchange’s failure to sustain an effective anti-money laundering program, the former CEO of Binance pleaded guilty to one count of felony.
At the time of publication, it was unknown whether Zhao would be required to appear at the Federal Detention Center SeaTac in Washington or the Camp at the Federal Correctional Institution Sheridan in Oregon.
CZ maintained a social media presence before and after the sentencing hearing, where he occasionally alluded to his intentions regarding X.
Giggle Academy, an initiative for youth-oriented crypto and blockchain education established by the former CEO of Binance.
Additionally, he engaged his 8.9 million X followers by alluding to recommendations for occupying one’s time while incarcerated.
These elements might have influenced Judge Jones’s decision not to order CZ to be incarcerated immediately.
Both FDC SeaTac and FCI Sheridan house violent offenders; the Federal Bureau of Prisons may be debating which facility poses the least risk of physical injury to Zhao during his four-month incarceration.
According to the website of the Probation or Pretrial Services Office of the Western District of Washington, “presentence reports are utilized by the Bureau of Prisons to determine the most suitable institutions for offenders to serve their sentences, to select prison programs that can assist the offenders, and to develop case plans for their eventual release.”
This information is provided after sentencing.
Zhao has previously remitted a $50 million fine by a November agreement between Binance and U.S. authorities.
Although the cryptocurrency exchange reached a settlement of $4.3 billion to address “civil regulatory enforcement actions,” the lawsuit lodged by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission remained unresolved.
