Changpeng Zhao Faces 3-Year Sentence: Friends, Family Seek Leniency

• Changpeng Zhao writes an apology letter to the court ahead of his 3-year prison sentence.
• The judge receives more than 161 support letters from Zhao’s family and friends seeking leniency.
• CertiK founder Ronghui Gu shares his support for Zhao, acknowledging him as a hero.

Changpeng Zhao, the former CEO of Binance, wrote a letter to the U.S. Judge from the Western District of Washington, Richard A. Jones, conveying apologies for his conduct ahead of his sentence. The judge also received about 161 support letters from Zhao’s family, friends, and acquaintances seeking leniency.

CertiK Co-Founder Ronghui Gu shared his support and regards for Zhao via an X post. Along with sending a support letter to the court, Gu wanted to publicly express his support for Zhao.

In his X post, CertiK co-founder acknowledged Zhao as a “hero.” In addition, he reiterated his belief that Zhao would find justice. His X post read,

“It was totally unexpected that all the information came out like this, but since my letter is out there, I want to publicly express my support and best wishes for @cz_binance. You are a hero, big bro! Hope everything will be OK.”

As per a recent court ruling, Zhao is expected to face a 36-month prison sentence on April 30 for violating anti-money laundering laws. In the recent letter, Zhao took complete responsibility for his actions and apologized for his “poor decisions.” He added, “There is no excuse for my failure to establish the necessary compliance controls at Binance.”

Zhao’s sister, Jessica Zhao, his wife, Yang Weiqing, Binance co-founder, He Yi, and many others wrote to the judge pleading for mercy. Jessica asserted that Zhao hasn’t misused customer funds and cares for others’ well-being. Meanwhile, He Yi stated, “If the cryptocurrency industry is compared to the Wild West, then CZ is the guardian of this wilderness.”