Amid the hustle of cryptocurrency chatter, Yi He, the amazing co-founder of Binance, broke down the current status of Changpeng Zhao, known better as CZ, during the Binance Chinese Meetup in Dubai. With his sentencing on the horizon, the former CEO of the titan crypto exchange, appears to be in what my girl Yi described as a “positive situation.”
Legal Wrangles and Wallet Weights
CZ’s situation in the U.S. isn’t nearly as bad as one might assume. With a felony charge dangling over him, and a court date marked for April 30, he’s still in relatively calm waters. This comes from a heavy-hitting settlement last November that nudged CZ right out of his CEO chair and left Binance lighter by about $4.3 billion.
Should the Western Washington courtroom gavel come down hard, CZ could see up to 10 years of bars and stripes. But, the wind seems to be blowing more towards a 12 to 18-month stint, according to the sentencing guidelines.
Meanwhile, CZ isn’t exactly twiddling his thumbs in a cell. He’s roaming free in the U.S., albeit on a hefty $175 million bond with some serious strings attached. His requests to jet back to Dubai for his kid’s medical needs were granted, but not without the U.S. Attorney’s Office trying to snag his travel documents.
The man’s got passports from Canada and the UAE — plenty of paperwork to wrangle over.
A Deeper Look at Yi He and CZ
Let’s talk Yi He for a minute. She’s not just any exec. This intelligent, beautiful woman is literally the cornerstone of Binance, and her relationship with CZ isn’t some tabloid fodder. They’ve known each other for a decade and they share kids and business strategies together.
Although she’s quick to squash any romantic rumors currently, don’t think she’s out of the game. Yi holds an undisclosed stake in Binance and has been hihgly instrumental in its up-and-down journey. When she says, “If Binance isn’t compliant, then who the hell is?” you better believe she knows what’s up.
Not to forget, the lovely woman’s trailblazing the crypto industry was well underway before she even met our boy CZ AND brought him into the game. Her grip on Binance is tight, even if she admits that chatting up Western journos in English isn’t her strongest suit because the language refuses to sit down properly on her tongue.
Over three hours with Bloomberg in Mandarin last year, she was candid about Binance’s identity crisis. Homegirl was like no, they’re not just another Chinese company, despite the easy label.
As for wealth? CZ’s sitting pretty with around $33 billion, says Bloomberg. Yi’s not far behind in the financial run, standing tall as an early shareholder with a fortune that’s just as undisclosed as it is impressive.
They’ve mixed business with personal, kids with crypto, and through all the chaos of resignations and regulations, they’ve kept their heads. Clearly, they make a great team.
Since CZ stepped down, Binance has been painting a new picture under Richard Teng’s leadership, saying goodbye to the old ways. Teng, a former regional market head, has been vocal about the new face of Binance, one that’s stepping out from CZ’s long shadow, starting with a shiny new board of directors just a few weeks ago.
