‘Protect Users’: CZ’s parting words to community after 4-month sentence
As Changpeng Zhao, the founder of Binance, gave a heartfelt goodbye speech to its global cryptocurrency community, he was imprisoned for four months. But even though the weight of his sentence could be seen in his face, CZ never lost hope — and each time he said “user protection,” he meant it more.
Thank You for Being There
Zhao knew this was coming and still couldn’t believe how much love he got: “Thanks, everyone, for your care and support, be it writing letters, showing support on X, or any other form. They all mean a lot to me and keep me strong,” he said.
Thinking about what comes next — after this chapter ends and maybe some educational endeavors — but mainly as a passive investor who will always stay involved with crypto because that happens when you create something like binance.com (and many other things).
Growing Up
With growth comes compliance; so do regulations. Zhao knows it’s essential for people in these industries to follow the rules now more than ever before.“Our industry has entered a new phase. Compliance is super important,” He said.
The thing that made him happiest during this whole messy process? The fact that Binance was under such intense scrutiny throughout everything; “A silver lining of this whole process is Binance has been under the microscope. And funds are SAFU,” He said (SAFU stands for Secure Asset Fund For Users).
His final words were powerful, which was no surprise given what we know about him already – Protect users!
The farewell speech happened after a landmark trial in which U.S. District Judge Richard Jones gave CZ a four-month jail term for failing to maintain an effective Anti-Money Laundering program at Binance. Prosecutors had sought a three-year prison sentence, but Judge Jones recognized there wasn’t enough evidence showing that CZ knew about particular illegal activities taking place within Binance and so decided not to impose such severe punishment.
In their final arguments, government lawyers faulted what they described as CZ’s management style — frequently asking for forgiveness rather than permission — and said he should not be allowed to profit from these failures.
As he moves on to the next stage of his career, his never-ending work on behalf of users’ security and safety and his enormous influence over the cryptocurrency industry cannot be underestimated; they will resonate for years to come as a beacon of hope and inspiration for all those with bold ambitions who wish to reshape finance.
