CZ: Taking a $4.3 Billion Fine Was "Worth It" for the Industry

Odaily News: Binance Founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) has stated that most of the first draft of his 374-page autobiography, "The Binance Life", was written in prison. He had only 15 minutes of computer time per session, no copy-paste function, and had to use fragmented time between queuing for equipment.

He recalled that in November 2023, Binance paid a $4.3 billion fine for violating the U.S. Bank Secrecy Act. He personally was fined $150 million and stepped down as CEO. He stated that had he not taken on the responsibility, Binance and the entire industry could have suffered greater consequences, making his choice "worth it."

Changpeng Zhao said the most agonizing part of his sentence was the uncertainty, as both the fine amount and the sentence length changed over time. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement also issued detention orders three times. He believes this experience made him realize that freedom is not absolute, but his belief in "financial freedom" has been strengthened. (HK01)