Changpeng Zhao is walking free. What will he do next?

He was barred from running Binance for life and said he planned to educate children and focus on philanthropy. So, does this mean that CZ’s days in crypto are truly behind us?

Changpeng Zhao was the world’s richest prisoner, with Forbes estimating his net worth at $61.6 billion.

Now, after serving four months behind bars for admitting that Binance failed to implement adequate Know Your Customer controls in violation of the Bank Secrecy Act, he walked out of a low-security prison in California a free man on Friday, September 27.

CZ’s initial release date was scheduled for September 29, but rules suggested that because it was on a Sunday, guards had the discretion to release him on Friday.

Changpeng Zhao | Source: @cz_binance

Despite the relatively short sentence, life will be quite different for the billionaire. He had a cult-like status while running Binance but has now been banned from running the exchange for life.

All of this has led to swirling speculation about what CZ will do next. Will he return to crypto, the industry that made him a huge fortune? Could there be a turning point in artificial intelligence? At the hearing in which he was sentenced in April, the 47-year-old actor stated that neither of them were a priority and said:

“In the next part of my life, I want to provide opportunities to others, that is, our youth. “I am building a platform that will provide high-quality education for free to poor children around the world.”

For this purpose, a website called Giggle Academy was created; but a cursory look shows that it’s still in the pre-launch stage.

Binance, for its part, wishes CZ well and makes it clear that there have been no hard feelings since he replaced Richard Teng as CEO.

“We are happy that CZ will be home with his family. Even though he is not managing or operating Binance, we are excited to see what he does next.”

The entrepreneur will no doubt be eager to update his 8.8 million followers on X, where he was a visible presence before his incarceration.

The future of CZ

Campaigners argue CZ’s sentence is nothing more than a slap on the wrist; Better Markets previously claimed there was “overwhelming evidence” to suggest CZ “designed and operated Binance as a crypto money laundering shop.” for the most vile global criminals.”

His four-month prison term was well below the maximum 18-month term specified in sentencing guidelines and was miles away from the three years U.S. prosecutors were seeking. A former Binance employee, who wished to remain anonymous, told crypto.news:

“It seems like a pretty short sentence compared to the crimes he was tried for; it feels like another example of a financial criminal not being tried long enough.”

They argued that, given their personal knowledge of CZ and his personality, four months was not enough for the deceased businessman to learn from his crimes.

“I’m guessing he saw this as a small but unfortunate blip in the road to building his empire.”

The former Binance employee told us they are unsure if CZ will appear in the crypto space, but also noted that some of his closest aides have now taken over leadership of the exchange.

“Even if he never ‘works’ in crypto again, the fact that He Yi is still at Binance means CZ can never stay away from crypto.”

He Yi is the co-founder and head of customer service at Binance and has been a partner at CZ since 2014.

But there’s a bigger question to ask here: How much damage did Changpeng Zhao cause to the world’s largest crypto exchange? The platform has been banned by some of the world’s largest economies in recent years, including the UK and the US. When asked if the prison sentence would have a lasting impact on the platform, our source said:

“Actually, I don’t think so. Compared to SBF and FTX, no one seems to remember the crimes of CZ and Binance.”

There’s no doubt that CZ’s top priority right now is to start improving its image; however, both it and Binance will continue to face legal challenges in the coming months.

Just a few years ago, any reference to potential headwinds would have drawn a fancy CZ number “4”; He used this number as an acronym for “FUD”: fear, uncertainty and doubt.

No longer part of the empire he helped build, Changpeng Zhao may not be a humbler figure.