The Changpeng Zhao trial, which is well-known in the digital asset field as CZ, demonstrated how important cooperation is to the outcome. It is significant to remember that the cryptocurrency entrepreneur received a 4-month prison sentence.
Judge Richard Jones of the United States District Court in Seattle observed that the billionaire's charitable contributions were accompanied by his acceptance of responsibility, despite his denial of any involvement in the crimes occurring at Binance.
The sentence is much less than that recommended by the US authorities, but it is also more than CZ's attorneys requested. While CZ's attorneys requested only house arrest, the prosecution requested a three-year prison sentence.
Zhao keeps both his enormous riches and his large interest in Binance. Co-founder of Better Markets Dennis Kelleher said the little sentence demonstrated that “crime pays,” and DOJ lawyer Kevin Mosley agreed to do so:
"His goal to amass as much wealth as possible was not contingent upon breaking U.S. law. That endeavor required breaking the law."
Remarkably, Zhao received hundreds of letters endorsing him as a family guy. The former executive of Binance has lived a largely secluded life. He has a son who is in college and sat next to his mother and nephew during the sentencing. Throughout the trial, CZ also repeatedly underlined his guilt and his incapacity to make amends for Binance's wrongdoings. However, the court supervising SBF's case stated that Sam Bankman-Fried, the creator of the defunct cryptocurrency exchange FTX, never expressed "a word of remorse for commission of terrible crimes."
May 2024, Cryptoniteuae