7 months ago
33 ARTICLE AD
Changpeng Zhao is scheduled for sentencing today.
Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, continues to thrive despite the legal troubles faced by its founder, Changpeng “CZ” Zhao.
Zhao, who pleaded guilty to violating anti-money laundering laws, faces the possibility of a three-year prison sentence, as recommended by US prosecutors. Zhao is scheduled for sentencing today, April 30, after the initial sentencing date was moved earlier this year in February 23.
If the Seattle judge agrees with the prosecutors’ recommendation, Zhao would become the richest person to serve time in a US federal prison. However, his ownership of Binance and an estimated personal fortune of $43 billion remain intact. The company’s business is expected to grow as the crypto market experiences a bull run, driven in part by the launch of US exchange-traded funds investing directly in Bitcoin.
Despite the gravity of the allegations and Zhao’s guilty plea, Binance has maintained its market-share leadership in combined spot and derivatives crypto markets. The company reported adding more than 40 million new users in 2023, a 30% increase from the previous year. Customer holdings on the exchange have surpassed $100 billion, and the company is estimated to have generated $9.8 billion in annualized revenue in the 12 months through March.
Binance’s resilience is attributed to several factors, including its ability to handle the volatile nature of crypto trading and its differentiation from the now-defunct FTX exchange. Unlike FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, who was convicted and sentenced to 25 years in prison for misappropriating billions of dollars worth of users’ cryptocurrencies, Zhao and Binance were not charged with duping customers about the use of their funds.
Since Zhao’s guilty plea, Yi He, the mother of three of his children and a Binance co-founder, has taken on a more prominent role in the company’s operations. Zhao has also relinquished his position as the public face of Binance, maintaining a low profile since his plea agreement.
Binance’s board of directors now includes several of Zhao’s longtime friends and associates, some of whom have been with the company since its founding in 2017. The US government will assign a monitor to oversee Binance’s compliance with the plea agreement for five years, ensuring the company adheres to anti-money laundering and sanctions laws.
Despite the legal challenges, many traders using Binance have reported little change in their experience with the exchange. Some investors view the settlement as a source of increased certainty, while others remain cautious and diversify their risk across multiple platforms. Recent reports indicate that Binance itself has been venturing into new sectors in the crypto industry, with a particular focus on Bitcoin-based restaking protocol BounceBit, among other new ventures.
The information on or accessed through this website is obtained from independent sources we believe to be accurate and reliable, but Decentral Media, Inc. makes no representation or warranty as to the timeliness, completeness, or accuracy of any information on or accessed through this website. Decentral Media, Inc. is not an investment advisor. We do not give personalized investment advice or other financial advice. The information on this website is subject to change without notice. Some or all of the information on this website may become outdated, or it may be or become incomplete or inaccurate. We may, but are not obligated to, update any outdated, incomplete, or inaccurate information.
Crypto Briefing may augment articles with AI-generated content created by Crypto Briefing’s own proprietary AI platform. We use AI as a tool to deliver fast, valuable and actionable information without losing the insight - and oversight - of experienced crypto natives. All AI augmented content is carefully reviewed, including for factural accuracy, by our editors and writers, and always draws from multiple primary and secondary sources when available to create our stories and articles.
You should never make an investment decision on an ICO, IEO, or other investment based on the information on this website, and you should never interpret or otherwise rely on any of the information on this website as investment advice. We strongly recommend that you consult a licensed investment advisor or other qualified financial professional if you are seeking investment advice on an ICO, IEO, or other investment. We do not accept compensation in any form for analyzing or reporting on any ICO, IEO, cryptocurrency, currency, tokenized sales, securities, or commodities.
