The post Changpeng Zhao is walking free. What will he do next? appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com.

He’s banned from running Binance for life — and says he plans to educate children and focus on philanthropy. But does that mean CZ’s days in crypto are truly behind him? Changpeng Zhao was the world’s richest inmate, with Forbes estimating his net worth at $61.6 billion. Now, after serving four months behind bars for admitting that Binance failed to enforce adequate Know Your Customer checks — a violation of the Bank Secrecy Act — he walked out of a low-security prison in California as a free man on Friday Sept. 27. CZ’s initial release date had been slated for September 29, but rules suggested that, given this would be a Sunday, wardens had the discretion to release him on Friday instead. Changpeng Zhao | Source: @cz_binance Despite the relatively short sentence, life will be quite different for the billionaire. He commanded a cult-like status while overseeing Binance, but he has now been handed a lifetime ban from managing the exchange. All of this has led to swirling speculation about what CZ will do next. Will he return to crypto, the industry that made him his vast fortune? Could there be a pivot to AI? At the hearing where he was sentenced back in April, the 47-year-old suggested that neither was a priority, declaring: “For the next chapter of my life, I want to provide opportunities for others, namely our youth. I’m building a platform to provide high-quality education for underprivileged kids, all around the world, for free.” To that end, a website has been created called Giggle Academy — but a cursory glance suggests that it remains very much in the pre-launch phase. For its part, Binance is wishing CZ well and making clear that there are no hard feelings since Richard Teng succeeded him as CEO. “We are…

---

Filed under: News - @ September 27, 2024 11:19 pm