Court Ruling: Sentencing of CZ Delayed Until Late April

Changpeng Zhao will be a “free” man for a little while longer, after his court hearing was delayed until April 30th later this year. The original sentencing was supposed to take place in the next two weeks on February 23rd. The decision to postpone was made by the Seattle Federal Court, but the rationale behind the move wasn’t made public. CZ, the ex-CEO of Binance, is currently on bail after posting a whopping USD $175M (AUD $271M) for his release in the United States. According to precedent, Zhao may be looking at a max of 18 months behind bars, but prosecutors may attempt to lengthen the sentence.

The Rich Get Richer

Changpeng Zhao is facing charges relating to anti-money laundering while he was in charge of Binance. Specifically, the court accused CZ of facilitating terrorist financing and other forms of money laundering as the leader of the world’s biggest crypto exchange. 

The Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen explained the charges, to which Changpeng Zhao pleaded guilty on November 21st. 

Binance was allowing illicit actors to transact freely, supporting activities from child sexual abuse to illegal narcotics to terrorism”

Janet Yellen

As part of the bargain between the Department of Justice and Binance, CZ was forced to pay a personal fine of USD $50M (AUD $77M). Despite facing criminal charges, potential jail time and leaving behind his billion-dollar business, this figure is apparently light work for CZ, who somehow managed to grow his wealth in 2023. 

According to the Australian Financial Review, Changpeng Zhao’s net worth increased by a mind-boggling USD $25B (AUD $36.7B) throughout last year. The renaissance of his fortune is largely due to the rebounding crypto markets, with Bitcoin in particular posting gains of over 100% over those 12 months. 

If the current ETF boom carries the crypto market into its next bull run, it’s not unfathomable to imagine that CZ’s wealth surges past $100B…all the while he’s behind bars.