Binance founder Changpeng Zhao sentenced to 4 months in prison after plea deal

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Binance's billionaire founder Changpeng Zhao was sentenced to four months in prison on Tuesday, after pleading guilty to charges of enabling money laundering at his crypto exchange.

"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," U.S. District Judge Richard Jones said to Zhao in a Seattle federal court, according to a Reuters report.

The sentence handed down to the former Binance chief was significantly less than the three years that federal prosecutors had been seeking for him. The defense had asked for five months of probation. The sentencing guidelines called for a prison term of 12 to 18 months.

"I'm sorry," Zhao told the judge before receiving his sentence, per Reuters.

"I believe the first step of taking responsibility is to fully recognize the mistakes," Zhao reportedly said earlier Tuesday in court. "Here I failed to implement an adequate anti-money laundering program... I realize now the seriousness of that mistake."

In November, Zhao, commonly known as CZ, struck a deal with the U.S. government to resolve a multiyear investigation into Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange. As part of the settlement, Zhao stepped down as the company's CEO. Though he is no longer running the company, Zhao is widely reported to have an estimated 90% stake in Binance.

Zhao, who wore a dark navy suit with a light blue tie to court, is accused of willfully failing to implement an effective anti-money laundering program as required by the Bank Secrecy Act, and of allowing Binance to process transactions involving proceeds of unlawful activity, including