❯ Changpeng Zhao settles in Abu Dhabi after prison and still holds a majority stake in Binance

A gilded new lifeAccording to the New York Times, Binance founder Changpeng Zhao is living a lavish life in Abu Dhabi after serving four months in a US prison. He still holds a majority stake in Binance and has a net worth of more than $10 billion.

From guilty plea to pardonBinance is one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges by trading volume. In 2023, it admitted to failing to maintain an effective anti-money-laundering program and paid a $4.3 billion penalty, and Zhao stepped down as CEO. He was sentenced to four months in April 2024, released that September, and later pardoned by Trump. Abu Dhabi investment firm MGX also invested $2 billion in Binance last year, paid in USD1, the stablecoin of Trump family-linked World Liberty.

A comeback as oversight loosensThough no longer CEO, Zhao can still steer Binance as its largest shareholder. The pardon and Middle Eastern capital have markedly lowered the barriers to Binance expanding again in the US. For regulators, how to treat a pardoned founder who still controls the world’s largest exchange will be a new test.

▪ SIGNALAfter a guilty plea, four months in prison and a pardon, control of Binance barely changed, suggesting the regulatory price in crypto is lighter than it looks.