Recently, some media reported that Binance founder and former CEO Zhao Changpeng was released early on September 27 (originally scheduled to be released from prison on September 29, but because the 29th was a weekend, he was released two days early), completing his four-month sentence and officially becoming a free man.
This also means that after voluntarily paying a fine of 53 billion to the United States and serving four months in prison, Zhao Changpeng has completely cleared himself and has completely reconciled with the U.S. judicial department and other relevant departments. It is estimated that the United States will not cause trouble for Zhao Changpeng in the future.
Theoretically, Zhao Changpeng can now safely hold on to his current $30 billion fortune and live a free and easy life.
Zhao Changpeng's most glorious moment was in 2021, when his net worth reached US$94.1 billion (nearly RMB 600 billion), ranking among the top 10 in the world and first among all Huawei employees. This is why everyone says that he is the former richest Chinese.
Why is he so rich? The reason is Binance, which he founded in Shanghai in 2017. Within a few years, Binance has grown rapidly into the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange.
In addition, Zhao Changpeng also issued Binance Coin himself, and its price rose from US$0.1 in 2017 to more than US$600, an increase of more than 6,000 times, which also made him a crazy profit.
Therefore, by 2021, Zhao Changpeng's wealth reached its peak, reaching US$94.1 billion, making him the richest Chinese in the world.
However, this type of cryptocurrency has never been recognized or welcomed by national regulatory authorities, and the Binance platform is not legally recognized or allowed in most countries around the world. Therefore, although Zhao Changpeng is rich, he is wandering around the world, has no fixed place to live, and even has no headquarters. He goes wherever there is no suppression, fighting guerrilla warfare around the world.
But this is definitely not a long-term solution. If a country really wants to target Zhao Changpeng, it will be useless no matter where it goes. The United States has always believed that Binance is illegal and is suspected of multiple violations and crimes. It wants to punish Binance and Zhao Changpeng. So last year, Zhao Changpeng took the initiative to fly to the United States to plead guilty.
First, he signed a plea agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice. According to the agreement, he was personally fined $50 million, resigned as CEO of Binance, and would not participate in any Binance activities within three years.
Second, Binance reached a settlement with the U.S. Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), with the settlement amounts being US$3.4 billion and US$968 million, respectively.
Third, Binance also reached a settlement with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and paid a fine of US$1.35 billion.
Anyway, in the end, Binance and Zhao Changpeng paid a total of US$7.375 billion (equivalent to about RMB 53 billion at the time) in fines and bail, and were sentenced to four months in prison by the court, but this can be regarded as a complete settlement with the relevant US departments.
Now, Zhao Changpeng has been released from prison after serving his four-month sentence. As of now, Zhao Changpeng's net worth is still US$30 billion, ranking 61st in the world, while Li Ka-shing's net worth is US$30.3 billion, ranking 60th in the world. He is still a wealthy man.
To be honest, for him, the wealth is too much to spend. 30 billion US dollars or 90 billion US dollars are all imaginary. Freedom is real. So spending 53 billion and going to jail for 4 months can buy peace from the United States, clean himself up and successfully get ashore. I think it is still worth it. What do you think? #非农就业数据即将公布 #币安上线CATI #美联储11月降息预期升温 #BTC #ETH $BTC $ETH $BNB
