A U.S. district judge, Richard Jones, has accepted a guilty plea from former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) on charges related to anti-money laundering violations.

The decision was finalized on Wednesday, according to a court filing in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington in Seattle.

Corporate Settlement and Resignation

Zhao pleaded guilty last month to anti-money laundering and sanctions violations after years-long probes by federal regulators. In one of the largest corporate settlements in history, Binance agreed to pay $4.3 billion.

As part of the settlement, Zhao agreed to pay a substantial $50 million fine and stepped down as CEO.

Zhao also stepped down as chairman of the board of directors for Binance.US last week, effectively removing his influence from Binance.US’s governance and rendering his interest in the U.S. arm of the exchange purely economic.

Post-Resignation Activities

Since stepping down, Zhao has been active on X, where he shared insights about his personal experiences. His recent posts include updates about his lunch, reposting content related to the new Binance CEO Richard Teng, and reflections on risk-taking.

“10 years ago today, I quit my job, sold my house, and aped into Bitcoin. No, I am not saying you should do the same. Everyone’s risk profile is different. Learn risk management,” wrote Changpeng Zhao.