The sentence was imposed by US District Judge Richard Jones in Seattle, who rejected prosecutors’ request that the 47-year-old Zhao serve a three-year term, twice the maximum recommended under federal guidelines.
Once considered the most powerful person in the crypto industry, Zhao, known as “CZ”, is the second major crypto boss to be sentenced to prison. In March, Sam Bankman-Fried received 25 years behind bars for stealing US$8 billion from customers of his now-bankrupt FTX exchange.
Bankman-Fried is appealing his conviction and sentence.
Before handing down the sentence, Jones faulted Zhao for putting growth and profits before complying with US laws.
“You had the wherewithal, the finance capabilities, and the people power to make sure that every single regulation had to be complied with, and so you failed at that opportunity,” he said.
Wearing a navy blue suit and tie, Zhao did not react to sentencing.
Prosecutors said Binance employed a Wild West model that welcomed criminals and did not report more than 100,000 suspicious transactions with designated terrorist groups including Hamas, al-Qaeda and Islamic State.
