CZ released from prison

Changpeng Zhao (CZ), founder of the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange Binance, has been released from prison after four months in custody in the US.

“We are excited for CZ to be home with his family,” a Binance spokesperson told Cointelegraph . “While he will not be managing or operating Binance, we are excited to see his next step. Since last year, Binance has continued to grow strongly under the leadership of the current team, surpassing 230 million users globally.”

A spokesperson for the Federal Bureau of Prisons also confirmed that CZ has completed his prison sentence and returned home. He also posted a message on X: "gm". However, it is not yet clear what the Binance founder meant. The price of the exchange's BNB cryptocurrency increased by 4% after his release from prison.

Illustration of Changpeng Zhao by CoinTelegraph .

Previously, Binance was fined $4.32 billion, while CZ had to resign as CEO and was sentenced to four months in prison for " failure to comply with anti-money laundering regulations" and violating sanctions imposed by the US Department of Justice (DOJ). He was previously released on $175 million bail and agreed not to appeal any of the sentences.

At the hearing, CZ apologized for his actions, saying he had “spent a lot of time alone to reflect.” He took responsibility for failing to properly control Binance as required. The former Binance CEO began his incarceration at a federal prison in Lompoc, California, in early June.

Changpeng Zhao was born in 1977, a Chinese-Canadian, graduated with a degree in information technology from McGill University, worked for a time at the Tokyo Stock Exchange, and then moved to Bloomberg LP - Bloomberg's financial subsidiary. During this time, CZ realized "how money flows through computer systems and never took his eyes off the financial sector".

Before founding Binance in July 2017, Changpeng Zhao was a member of the Blockchain.info development team and served as the CTO of OKCoin, the world's second-largest cryptocurrency exchange at the time. In 2021, CZ joined the billionaire club with a fortune equivalent to $96 billion, according to Bloomberg 's rankings . He is also considered "the world's richest prisoner", with an estimated fortune of $30.8 billion.