Changpeng Zhao, the former chief executive of Binance, was sentenced on Tuesday (April 30) to four months in prison after pleading guilty to violating U.S. money-laundering laws at the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange.
The sentence was imposed by U.S. District Judge Richard Jones in Seattle, who rejected prosecutors’ request that the 47-year-old Zhao serve a three-year term, twice the maximum recommended under federal guidelines.
Once considered the most powerful person in the crypto industry, Zhao, known as “CZ,” is the second major crypto boss to be sentenced to prison. In March, Sam Bankman-Fried received 25 years behind bars for stealing $8 billion from customers of his now-bankrupt FTX exchange.
Bankman-Fried is appealing his conviction and sentence.
Before handing down the sentence, Jones faulted Zhao for putting growth and profits before complying with U.S. laws.
Zhao had been free on a $175 million bond, and agreed not to appeal any sentence within federal guidelines. Zhao also paid $50 million to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
(Reuters)