Binance founder CZ says will not return to crypto exchange after imprisonment

   Zhao Changpeng, co-founder and former CEO of Binance, said he does not want to return as the company’s chief executive in his first public appearance after a four-month prison stint in the US. The 47-year-old Chinese-Canadian entrepreneur, known widely in the industry by his initials CZ, was sentenced to a California prison in May for failing to take required anti-money-laundering measures while he headed the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange. He was released in September. In an interview on Thursday during the Binance Blockchain Week conference, his first public event since leaving prison, Zhao said he will not consider returning to helm the company he started in 2017. “I think in the judge’s mind, he treated me very leniently,” Zhao said. “It’s a very subjective opinion, I try not to think about it. I think everyone here will have their own opinions, but I just want to move on.” The crypto billionaire said he would not return to Binance even if he were allowed. He is currently banned from serving in the company under a plea deal with the US. “I don’t have any need to go back. I don’t have any wish to go back,” he said. Still, Zhao remains Binance’s largest shareholder, and he said that, to his knowledge, he can still request information on the company. “The relationship is actually a pretty good one, given that now there’s a bunch of other guys working really hard and I’m forced to retire,” he said. Zhao is now focusing on other projects, including one related to education called Giggle Academy, and making investments in blockchain, artificial intelligence and biotech. Despite having agreed to pay a US$50 million penalty as part of his plea agreement, Zhao’s riches have ballooned this year as cryptocurrency prices surged. Zhao’s 135 billion yuan (US$19 billion) fortune has made him the 16th richest entrepreneur in China, moving him up 81 spots on the latest Hurun Rich List published this week. The significant jump in Zhao’s fortune was due to the increase in cryptocurrency trading volume this year and the spike in the price of bitcoin, Hurun said. Bitcoin was trading above US$69,000 on Friday, up 95.67 per cent from a year ago. Zhao on Thursday described his prison experience as “not good” and “very limiting in a lot of ways”, but spoke fondly of his fellow inmates. “To be honest, I think there are very nice people in prison. People are very chill. I think a decent portion of them had no reason to be there,” Zhao said. “I met a few friends who I still keep in touch with. I’m trying to help a few of them to fight their case through legal means, hopefully to get them out earlier.”