Ki Young Ju, CEO of blockchain analytics firm CryptoQuant, has expressed his support for former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) as his four-month prison sentence comes to an end.
Zhao began serving his sentence in June 2024 after admitting to violating the U.S. Bank Secrecy Act (BSA).
Statement by Ki Young Ju
His guilty plea was for failing to prevent money laundering on Binance, which resulted in a $4.3 billion penalty for the company and a $50 million fine for Zhao himself. His incarceration, which began in June 2024, will end on September 29.
In a recent statement posted on X, the CryptoQuant CEO acknowledged the Binance executive’s mistakes while highlighting his contributions. “Don’t underestimate CZ. He deserves respect,” he wrote, referring to a broader societal perspective.
The statement points out that when the intrinsic value of an industry does not match the capital it has absorbed, society tends to view this as a “sin.” In such scenarios, the most influential figures are often held responsible for the industry’s shortcomings.
He also explained that the cryptocurrency sector, like other young and immature sectors, has faced its share of “growing pains,” including rampant crime such as hacks and fraud, which have hampered its growth. Zhao has become the scapegoat for some of the industry’s failings, he said, but that should not overshadow his role in its development.
“While he certainly made mistakes, there is also an indirect element to his ownership, representing the growing pains of the industry.” He concluded by acknowledging that without Binance, the crypto space would not have attracted the global liquidity it enjoys today.
Community Reaction
Meanwhile, the community has reacted negatively to the statement. Ari Paul of BlockTower Capital claimed that CZ committed the same crimes as Sam Bankman-Fried and was only spared a harsher sentence because of concerns about his ability to corrupt foreign governments and the value of the information he could provide to authorities.
He also claimed that CZ’s actions had “ruined many lives,” leading to the “disappearance” of several Binance executives, and had caused significant harm to the industry as a whole.
However, Ju refuted these accusations, saying that the exchange never used customer funds and that on-chain data shows the differences in wallet management between Binance and FTX. He also stressed that the exchange CEO was not accused of using customer funds, but rather of abetting money laundering.
“If CZ was really the criminal you suggest, the authorities would not have released him, even if a deal had been offered, as you mentioned.”
Ju also argues that the suspicions surrounding Binance are similar to the FUD (fear, uncertainty, and doubt) surrounding Tether, as there is no conclusive evidence to support the accusations.
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