CZ says he went to the U.S. to plead guilty because he did not want to be a fugitive

Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, better known as CZ, said in a recent interview with Japanese business outlet PIVOT that he chose to travel to the United States, plead guilty, and pay a large fine because he did not want to become a fugitive or avoid the issue. In the interview, Zhao said Binance was involved only in registration-related violations and that the case did not involve fraud or victims. He also said users had remained well protected throughout. Zhao described his time in prison as an unpleasant experience and a lesson. He also pointed to what he called more serious violations by U.S. banks in the recent period, saying those cases resulted in a $1.2 billion fine but no prosecution. Zhao added that the world is not fair, but said he is no longer dwelling on that and is instead focused on moving forward and learning from the experience to do more positive things.