Changping Zhao, founder of cryptocurrency exchange Binance, is set to be released this month after recently completing a four-month sentence. Specifically, Zhao is set to be officially released on September 29 after serving his time at a federal prison in Lompoc, California.
Zhao was formally convicted in April this year. Moreover, he faced retribution for various legal violations while leading the well-known cryptocurrency exchange. Now, attention is on his next move. Moreover, the market will be paying close attention to how his release will affect Binance and its native BNB coin.
Binance’s Zhao Changpeng to be released in September, markets await his next move
Late last year, one of the cryptocurrency market’s most prominent exchanges suffered a major tarnishment when the U.S. Department of Justice closed a long-running investigation into the platform, which resulted in a $4.3 billion fine for anti-money laundering deficiencies and violations of the Bank Secrecy Act.
Binance founder Changpeng Zhao bears much of the responsibility and is on the verge of being released just four months after being sentenced to prison. In fact, the former CEO, known as CZ, signed a deal with the US, after which he was given a much lighter sentence than the three years sought by prosecutors.
In addition to the prison sentence, Zhao was ordered to pay a $50 million fine. Furthermore, he reportedly resigned from his position at the exchange. However, earlier this month, current Binance CEO Richard Teng admitted that the reports were false. In fact, Zhao has been permanently barred from holding any leadership positions at the exchange in the future.
Zhao’s release could be a positive for Binance. In particular, the company’s BNB token could continue to benefit from the news. The cryptocurrency has surged more than 8% in the past seven days, according to CoinMarketCap. Moreover, it could surge another 15% from its current price of $547.
