No One Cares About Money Laundering as Crypto Industry Celebrates CZ's Release

Binance founder, Changpeng Zhao (CZ), has completed his four-month stint behind bars.

Released two days ahead of his scheduled release, CZ walked out of the halfway house in Long Beach as a free man. According to the US Bureau of Prisons (BOP), prisoners can leave prison early if their release date falls on a weekend or public holiday.

Celebrating his release, CZ remarked on X, "gm, the food taste so good... And what a luxury to be able to have more than one piece of fruit per day!"

He invited his followers to ask questions but emphasized that he "won't have all the answers," stating, "Let me chill for a bit. Then figure out the next steps. There are always more opportunities in the future than there were in the past."

CZ went on to thank everyone for their support and offered some insight on his projects and the industry.

"Giggle Academy has been going well, and will be a big part of my life for the next few years," he said.

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This unexpected career move comes amidst ongoing legal battles for CZ.

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Giggle Academy was established shortly after CZ exited Binance in early 2024. The project provides a gamified and adaptive learning platform that covers basic education (think grades 1-12) for everyone, everywhere.

There's no mention of monetization, just a focus on creating high-quality educational content.

Elsewhere in the tweet, CZ said he will "continue to invest in blockchain/decentralized technologies, AI, and biotech. I am a long term investor who care about impact, not returns" and will "dedicate more time and funding to charity (and education). I have some rough ideas.

"Still working on my book. About 2/3 done, I think. Writing a book is a lot more work than I anticipated, but will see this one through," he added.

Responses to his release and his tweet were overwhelmingly supportive. "GO DAD!!!" replied crypto influencer Tiffany Fong.

"Welcome back, CZ! Please enjoy your fruit, and your freedom," Advised 'The Cryptopians' author, Laura Shin.

"enjoy your fruits ser," said Crypto Twitter personality Shibetoshi Nakamoto.

"We missed you so much, Glad you’re back safe and sound brother," Chains Card chairman Ben Todar responded.

CZ's arrest came as Binance was hit with a $4 billion fine. CZ was ordered to cough up $50 million of his hard-earned cash in November 2023.

Binance and CZ were charged with violating anti-money laundering laws; charges that CZ pleaded guilty to. CZ had allegedly told his staff that it was “better to ask forgiveness than ask permission” when onboarding US customers, despite regulators preventing the firm from operating on American shores.

Despite the heavy fine and recommended jail time of 36 months, the crypto industry seems to have overlooked CZ's contributions to global money laundering. Caroline Ellison and her ex-boyfriend and FTX founder, Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), who were handed a 24-month and 25-year sentence, didn't earn the same sympathy from the industry.

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Perhaps some crypto crimes are forgivable and others just aren't. Or perhaps losing people's money is more nefarious than losing governments' taxable cash.