Binance Founder Sentenced to Four Months in Prison

Changpeng Zhao, the billionaire founder of the giant cryptocurrency exchange Binance, was sentenced on Tuesday to four months in prison, a much lighter penalty than other crypto executives have faced since the industry imploded in 2022.

After Mr. Zhao pleaded guilty to money-laundering violations last year, prosecutors requested a three-year sentence, while defense lawyers asked for probation without any prison time.

Judge Richard A. Jones, who oversaw the case in U.S. District Court in Seattle, said in court on Tuesday that he was “confident” Mr. Zhao would not break the law again. “You’re a dedicated family man and a giving person,” he said.

Wearing a dark suit and light blue tie, Mr. Zhao, 47, did not visibly react as the sentence was announced. But he nodded vigorously during Judge Jones’s statement and touched his hand to his heart.

“I failed here,” Mr. Zhao said in brief remarks to the court. “I deeply regret my failure, and I’m sorry.”

Mr. Zhao’s sentencing was the second high-profile penalty this year in the Justice Department’s campaign to root out criminal behavior in the crypto industry. In March, Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of the collapsed FTX exchange and Mr. Zhao’s onetime business rival, was sentenced to 25 years in prison for fraud.