CZ Makes First Public Appearance Since Release From Prison

Changpeng Zhao made his first public appearance at the Binance Blockchain Week event in Dubai.

On the afternoon of October 31, former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) attended the Binance Blockchain Week conference in Dubai (UAE), where he participated in a panel discussion and posed for photos with attendees.

This is the first time CZ has appeared in front of the public since completing his 4-month prison sentence in the US in late September, after pleading guilty to “negligence in anti-money laundering” at Binance. The exchange had to pay a record fine of $4.3 billion to end the lawsuit with the US Department of Justice. CZ was fined an additional $50 million and banned from holding a management position at Binance for 3 years.

Unlike his usual image of wearing a Binance logo T-shirt, Changpeng Zhao has switched to wearing a shirt with the name of Giggle Academy, an educational project for children that he initiated earlier this year after stepping down as CEO of the exchange.

When asked about his time in prison, the former Binance CEO said that he felt quite comfortable because he no longer had to work as much as before, but there were many limitations because there was nothing else to do. Mr. Zhao admitted that he had the opportunity to look back at himself to rearrange his priorities in life.

He also said that he was not harassed by other prisoners or had any problems. CZ shared that he met many new people in prison, made friends with them and maintained the relationship until now. He revealed that the prison guards asked him for advice on crypto investment, but the former Binance CEO refused, saying that he did not have access to the Internet so he could not update the latest trends.

NEW: @cz_binance REVEALS THAT A COUPLE OF PRISON GUARDS ASKED HIM WHICH COINS THEY SHOULD BUY

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— DEGEN NEWS (@DegenerateNews) October 31, 2024

Commenting on his four-month prison sentence, Changpeng Zhao said that under the agreement with the US, he was not allowed to express his dissatisfaction about it. However, the former Binance CEO claimed that with his crime, he was the first person to be sentenced to prison. Mr. Zhao also mentioned the incident where TD Bank was recently fined $3 billion by the US for money laundering, but no managers were criminally prosecuted.

However, CZ admitted that he was lucky to receive a light sentence instead of being able to spend many years in prison, and said that he just wanted to “put it all behind”.

Changpeng Zhao has reaffirmed previous information about his relationship with Binance, that he is no longer involved in the day-to-day operations of the exchange, but will continue to be a majority shareholder of the exchange. CZ said that the agreement with the US government does not prohibit him from returning to be CEO of Binance, but the terms may be changed in the future. CZ has stated that he has no intention of returning to his old position, even if invited.

Binance's current CEO, Richard Teng, confirmed in early September that CZ will never be able to return to the position of CEO of the exchange.

In the coming time, Changpeng Zhao will focus on two key aspects: investment and education, similar to the former Binance CEO's first statement after being released from prison, as reported by Coin68 in late September.