Binance founder CZ makes first public appearance since prison release
Speaking at a two-day conference in Dubai after his release from a U.S. prison, Changpeng Zhao, the founder and former CEO of Binance, who stepped down as the cryptocurrency exchange's CEO last year due to a multibillion-dollar settlement with the U.S., was met with an ovation and a standing-room-only crowd.
CZ gets standing ovation in Dubai
During Zhao, also known as "CZ," appearance at Binance Blockchain Week, attendees stood shoulder to shoulder to listen to him. On Thursday, the second day of the conference that was held in Dubai, Zhao took the stage. The main stage started to fill up, and thirty minutes before his scheduled appearance time, there were no seats left. As CZ was introduced, the audience applauded and took out their phones to record him.
Austin Arnold, founder of Altcoin Daily and moderator of the session, began by asking Zhao about his prison experience.
The cryptocurrency founder said that he has no immediate plans to launch another cryptocurrency exchange, but he did talk about missing his friends, family, and coworkers while he was jailed.
According to a Binance spokesperson, there are about 4,000 attendees at the Binance blockchain week, and another 1 million people are watching the panels online.
Changpeng "CZ" Zhao believes global crypto regulation is improving
In his first public address since his release from US prison, Zhao stated that he can see a positive shift in crypto regulation globally in the run-up to the highly anticipated 2024 US presidential election during an October 31 fireside chat at Binance Blockchain Week Dubai 2024.
Former President Donald Trump and current Vice President Kamala Harris began discussing cryptocurrency on the campaign trail while he was imprisoned, he added.
CZ said during the fireside chat that “overall [cryptocurrency regulation] is actually moving in a very positive direction... By June, Donald Trump is pro-crypto. By the end of June, both parties are pro-crypto. I’m still sitting in prison, like, What the hell happened?”
Crypto regulations in the United States
During the fireside chat, CZ stated that larger economies, such as the US, require more time to develop regulatory frameworks. Some investors, however, worry that the US is not keeping up with the EU when it comes to crypto regulation. At the end of this year, the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) is expected to take effect.
Growing public interest in digital assets
Zhao declined to make any predictions about the possible outcome of the presidential election, but he did say that changing attitudes toward cryptocurrencies point to an increase in the demand for digital assets by the general public.
Binance founder CZ released from US prison
According to a representative for the US Federal Bureau of Prisons, the former CEO of the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world, CZ, was released from federal prison on September 27 after serving a four-month sentence for anti-money laundering (AML) offenses.
There is no doubt that Zhao will not be joining Binance again, the report added. The cryptocurrency company agreed that Zhao could not have "any present or future involvement in operating or managing" the exchange, as stated in Binance's plea deal submitted on November 21.
CZ new educational platform
CZ announced his educational venture, Giggle Academy, on March 19. The platform's aim is to help under-13-year-olds in developing countries who lack access to education. Additionally, the free academy plans to teach "topics current schools don't teach," including blockchain, artificial intelligence, entrepreneurship, sales, legal, accounting, negotiations, and finance.
Zhao stated that in addition to Giggle Academy, he is focusing on investments, such as those in biotech, blockchain, and artificial intelligence.
CZ is the richest person to ever serve a prison sentence in the United States, with an estimated net worth of $60 billion.
Background of CZ arrest
Zhao's decision to enter a guilty plea was widely seen as the right one. The stakes were high because Binance could have received a sentence of 18 months to three years for his noncompliance with AML regulations.
At the hearing on April 30, Judge Richard Jones of the Seattle district court justified the four-month sentence given to CZ by stating that there was no proof the former CEO had been made aware of any unlawful activity at Binance. CZ reached a deal in which the former CEO received a sentence of only four months in prison and Binance paid a $4.3 billion fine.
He was housed in a minimum security prison in southern California for the first two months before being transferred to a halfway house in Long Beach, where he was allowed to go on supervised daytime excursions.
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