Crypto billionaire Changpeng Zhao, founder of Binance, has been sentenced to four months in prison for federal money laundering charges. However, he remains positive and has thanked supporters, stating that he will focus on education after his sentence is served. Zhao plans to focus on his Giggle Academy project, a free online education platform for students from first grade through high school. He has also praised Binance for being "under the microscope" during the legal process and reinforcing the importance of compliance and protecting users.

Zhao Changpeng, the founder and former CEO of Binance, apologized for his "wrong decision" in a letter submitted to the judge in charge of the case on Tuesday, and admitted to taking "full responsibility" for his actions. Following the settlement between Zhao, Binance, and the United States, Zhao is expected to be sentenced on April 30th. In addition to Zhao's letter, there are 161 other letters of support seeking leniency for family, friends, and others. Former U.S. Ambassador to China Max S. Baucus, Professor Jeremy R. Cooperstock, Professor at McGill University, Associate Professor Gu Ronghui, Professor at Columbia University, Morgan Stanley Managing Director Sean Yang, and members of the royal family of the United Arab Emirates also sent letters of support.

He Yi announced at a Binance Chinese community meeting held in Dubai that Zhao Changpeng's current situation in the United States is "relatively stable" and that the previous regulatory pressure was already expected internally. He Yi believes that the current situation is the most ideal result under the current circumstances.

CZ, the founder of Binance, announced on X platform that a new project will be launched soon. However, this project does not involve any new tokens. It is an educational project and more detailed information will be announced soon.

A US federal judge has rejected a request by Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, the founder and former CEO of Binance, to travel to the United Arab Emirates. Despite offering to post $4.5 billion of his Binance US equity as assurance that he would return, Zhao was denied permission to go to Abu Dhabi to be present for the hospitalization and surgery of an unnamed associate. Prosecutors argued that Zhao posed a flight risk given his substantial wealth abroad and his minimal ties to the United States. Binance has faced warnings and enforcement actions by regulators across the globe over compliance with anti-money laundering laws.

On January 3rd, it was reported that in the absence of Zhao Changpeng, He Yi became the largest shareholder within Binance, with broad control over its marketing and investment departments. Sources familiar with the board recruitment process stated that He Yi exercised her influence in the election of Binance's new independent majority shareholder board. Insiders familiar with the exchange's financial situation stated that she holds at least 10% of the shares in Binance's Cayman Islands holding company. According to sources familiar with the negotiation situation, during early settlement discussions, the Justice Department had hoped that He Yi would also leave, but it is unclear why this ultimately did not happen. A spokesperson for Binance did not comment on He Yi's role in the case, but stated that the company has acknowledged past mistakes and made improvements. The spokesperson stated that He Yi supported this change.

According to market news, a US judge has ordered Binance founder Zhao Changpeng to remain in the United States before the verdict. <br>

A court document shows that a U.S. district judge has accepted a plea agreement between Zhao Changpeng and the Department of Justice.

Binance.US stated that CZ resigned as chairman and transferred his voting rights through proxies.

According to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), they are still looking for evidence to determine whether Binance and its founder CZ have a backdoor to control assets stored on the Binance.US platform.