Key takeaways:
- CZ has alluded to a project with “no new tokens.” He is scheduled to appear in court again on April 30 to face a judge for punishment in relation to his guilty plea.
- CZ left his position as CEO of Binance as part of a plea deal with US authorities.
Changpeng “CZ” Zhao has alluded to a project with “no new tokens.” He is scheduled to appear in court again on April 30 to face a judge for punishment in relation to his guilty plea to one felony count.
In a March 18 X post, Zhao revealed an education-focused initiative allegedly connected to blockchain technology or cryptocurrencies. The former CEO of Binance declared that the enigmatic project would entail “no new tokens” and that he would soon provide more information.
In November 2023, CZ resigned as CEO of Binance, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world, as part of a plea agreement with US authorities.
As part of a settlement with the US Justice Department, Department of the Treasury, and Commodities Futures Trading Commission, Binance agreed to pay $4.3 billion in exchange for Zhao entering a guilty plea to one count of failing to maintain the exchange’s anti-money laundering program.
Zhao is still in the US, where he is being held on a $175 million bond. His legal team has petitioned the court several times to get him permission to see family in the United Arab Emirates. The court was rescheduled for April 30 from its original February sentencing date. According to some experts, the former CEO of Binance may spend between 12 and 18 months behind bars.
Since the plea deal, CZ has not been very active on social media, mostly sharing neutral Christmas greetings. Although readers of Zhao’s post from March 18 were abuzz with rumors about the project, it was unclear exactly what Zhao was planning at the time of publication.
The US Securities and Exchange filed a lawsuit against Binance, Binance US, and Zhao in June 2023. The exchange’s US division claimed in a court document dated March 5 that the enforcement action had struck a “near-mortal blow” to the regulator.
