BREAKING: CZ Finally Released from U.S. Prison

Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) has officially been released from the Federal Correctional Institution Lompoc II prison in California after serving a four-month jail term.

News about CZ’s upcoming release flooded the media earlier today. His much-lauded release comes two days ahead of schedule due to a directive from the United States Department of Justice (DOJ), enforcing that inmates whose release date falls during the weekend or a legal holiday could be freed on the last working day.

CZ Out of Prison

Binance and its co-founder were hit with a regulatory clampdown from the U.S. DOJ last year over multiple claims. Among the allegations were that CZ and his company facilitated anti-money laundering and unlicensed money transfers and conducted lax know-your-customer (KYC) processes for years. In November, Binance pled guilty to federal charges and agreed to a $4.3 billion settlement fee.

CZ, on his part, willingly moved from his home in Dubai to the U.S. to face jail time. The Binance co-founder landed in prison in May after pleading guilty to charges against him. Part of his settlement deal with the U.S. regulator entailed relinquishing the Binance CEO role. Earlier this month, he was banned from ever becoming Binance CEO. However, this does not stop him from being a passive investor in the crypto market.

Zhao also agreed to a $50 million fine. Still, this fee is a small fraction of his current net worth of $60 billion. While serving the four-month prison sentence, the exchange’s former CEO was lauded as one of the U.S. wealthiest inmates.

Revealing his future endeavors after a jail term, the billionaire crypto figure revealed that he would embrace a philanthropic course through the Giggle Academy to support underprivileged children.

BNB Jumps

Following the news of Binance’s co-founder’s release, BNB saw a mild 2.2% increase to $608 at press time. Earlier today, the coin unlocked a local high of $613, as shown in the chart below.

Source: CoinStats