Former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) is set to be sentenced on April 30 after pleading guilty in November 2023.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) has recommended a three-year prison sentence due to the alleged scale of his misconduct. However, bettors on Polymarket, a prediction market, believe he will be out much sooner.
Trading on Polymarket indicates a 69% chance CZ will be out in less than six months, with similar probabilities for shorter sentences up to 17 months. There’s a 96% chance he’ll be out in less than two years and a less than 2% chance of the DOJ’s recommended 30-35-month sentence.
Traders speculate that letters of support, including those from notable figures like former U.S. Ambassador to China Max S. Baucus and professors from Columbia and McGill Universities, could influence the judge to give a significantly reduced sentence.
Similarly, CZ has expressed regret for his previous business decisions, acknowledging the lack of KYC and AML checks on his platform. The former Binance founder sent a letter to Judge Richard A. Jones of the Western District of Washington.
Despite CZ being out of the picture, Binance is still under scrutiny by global lawmakers. As CryptoMode reported, the leading crypto exchange faces a lawsuit in Canada, with plaintiffs alleging that it violated the Ontario Securities Act after selling unregistered securities.
