Binance founder Changpeng 'CZ' Zhao jailed for four months

THE founder and former chief executive of the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange has been jailed.

Changpeng 'CZ' Zhao will face the next four months behind bars after being sentenced at Seattle's Federal courthouse just now by Judge Richard Jones.

The 47-year-old Canadian pleaded guilty in November 2023 to breaking US anti-money laundering laws as part of a $4.3 billion settlement in which he paid a $50m personal fine.

Prosecutors had been calling for a minimum three-year sentence, owing to Zhao's high profile, and to act as a deterrent.

During earlier hearings they described Binance as a "Wild West" model that failed to report more than 100,000 suspicious transactions. These included known terrorist organisations.

In November, Zhao, who until today had been free on a $175 million bond, stepped down as the chief executive of the company he founded in 2017.