Binance Co-founder and Former CEO Changpeng Zhao's (CZ) release from prison has been welcomed by members of the crypto community, who took to X to express their support for the crypto mogul.
"The legend, the one man army, the biggest advocate of #crypto The real OG @cz_binance has been released from prison," financial market analyst Zeus Hamad said in a post. "Welcome back the real king."
"The king is back #CZ," said X user Akatsuki.
Crypto analyst Nilesh Rohilla said in a post, "Finally @cz_binance is coming back."
"We wish CZ all the best," crypto commentator MartyParty said in a post.
Fortune Crypto reported that CZ was released on Sept. 27 after serving four month for failing to establish adequate compliance controls at Binance, the largest crypto exchange in the world by trading volume. CZ served two months in a minimum security prison in California and two months in a halfway house in Long Beach.
CZ's original release date was Sept. 29, but according to U.S. Department of Justice's Federal Bureau of Prisons rules, inmates whose release dates fall on Saturdays, Sundays, or legal holidays can be released on the last preceding weekday, CoinDesk reported. A Binance spokesperson said, "We are delighted that CZ will be home with his family. While he is not managing or operating Binance, we are excited to see what he does next."
In November, Binance reached a resolution with multiple U.S. government agencies over historical compliance issues, according to a press release from the U.S. Department of Justice. CZ agreed to plead guilty to violating the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) by failing to implement adequate anti-money laundering controls when Binance was first launched. He stepped down from his role as CEO at that time, while the company agreed to pay a $4.3 billion fine and CZ paid an additional $50 million fine.
Richard Teng, who replaced CZ as Binance CEO, said during a June episode of the Bankless podcast, "CZ’s principles, such as user protection and maintaining a user-first approach, are deeply embedded in Binance’s culture. These continue to guide our decisions and operations. I respect CZ immensely, especially for his accountability. He took full responsibility for past mistakes and stepped down to ensure the company could move forward."
Ahead of CZ's sentencing in April, he wrote a letter addressed to Judge Richard Jones of the Western District of Washington, according to a court filing. In the letter, he apologized for his "poor decisions" and said he takes "full responsibility" for his actions. He said that in retrospect, he should have prioritized implementing more stringent compliance controls at Binance "from the get-go." He apologized to everyone he "let down," including family, friends, employees, and the broader crypto community. He said that prior to starting Binance, he had several less successful business ventures in the tech sector, and when they did not succeed, he "always returned investor money and made everyone whole."
Looking forward, CZ said he would like to focus on the biotech sector to help fund small research labs that are less "profit driven" than large pharmaceutical companies with the goal of "curing diseases once and for all" and expanding medical access to communities around the world. CZ said he would also like to continue to focus on educating and supporting youth, which was one of his priorities at Binance. "Please accept my assurance that this will be my only encounter with the criminal justice system and that going forward I will live my life in a manner that will make everyone proud," CZ said.
