Crypto's Richest Man Wrote a Prison Memoir — And It's Exactly What You'd Expect

Changpeng Zhao, the founder of Binance and crypto's wealthiest billionaire, has written a memoir about his prison time, secret negotiations with federal prosecutors, and his "humbling comedown." The draft of "Freedom of Money" was obtained by The New York Times. It reads exactly like you'd expect a $60 billion man's prison journal to read.

The Secret Negotiations

Federal prosecutors threatened Binance with charges of money laundering and terrorist financing, demanding a $6.8 billion penalty — one of the largest corporate penalties ever. CZ consulted more than a dozen high-priced lawyers who "often gave conflicting advice."

At times, he "mentally prepared for life as a fugitive." He accused the DOJ of prioritizing "victory over justice" and worried prosecutors would "pull tricks" and "screw with me." He eventually pleaded guilty to a single anti-money-laundering charge and served four months in prison.

The Richest Inmate in History

CZ details his brief stint as the wealthiest inmate in U.S. history — a "humbling comedown for a jet-setting tech mogul accustomed to meeting with world leaders." The memoir also describes a previously unreported run-in with Immigration and Customs Enforcement that nearly forced him to stay in custody beyond his sentence.

The Trump Connection

President Trump pardoned CZ last fall. The memoir draft doesn't shed light on the pardon campaign or Binance's links to the Trump family's crypto startup. But it's "full of attacks on the Justice Department that echo some of Mr. Trump's rhetoric."

In one chapter, CZ wrote he was appalled that Trump had been prosecuted for keeping classified files, writing: "If an employee took company files to read in the bathroom, I would be inclined to give him a bonus."

The Bottom Line

A man worth $60 billion who ran an exchange that facilitated money laundering and terrorist financing served four months in prison, got pardoned by a president whose family now has a crypto business relationship with his company, and is writing a memoir casting himself as the victim. Only in crypto does this qualify as a redemption arc.

Source: The New York Times