Elizabeth Lopatto
Zhao is soft-spoken but very clear.
After his brief remarks, he has now stepped down.
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Archives for April 2024
Elizabeth Lopatto
“I’ve had a lot of quiet time alone to think and reflect.”
Zhao says he wants to create a platform for online education for underprivileged kids. “I find this new work extremely rewarding and meaningful.”
Elizabeth Lopatto
Changpeng Zhao speaks.
Addressing the courtoom before being sentenced, the Binance begins by saying, “I’m sorry,” and says he wants to take responsibility for his “mistakes.” He notes that Binance did implement a KYC/AML program, and that it is cooperating with the US government.
“In my mind, I wanted to do everything possible before stepping down as CEO.”
Emma Roth
Amazon’s Red One budget reportedly soared past $250 million.
Sources tell The Wrap that the high costs stemmed from Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s “chronic lateness,” along with inexperienced production execs:
“It should look like a $200 million-plus movie, but it doesn’t, because more than half goes to buyouts of the stars and the above the line,” the production insider said. “Amazon MGM have so many movies that nobody’s concentrating on what actually needs to get done. Given their volume, they can’t concentrate.”
Elizabeth Lopatto
Someone took a photo and posted it on Twitter during the hearing.
The judge is annoyed by this.
Elizabeth Lopatto
And we’re back!
Judge Richard Jones is back on the bench, and we are about to hear from Changpeng Zhao himself.
Gotta say, the government has not exactly covered itself in glory here. If Zhao’s statement is convincing, he might not serve time at all.
Elizabeth Lopatto
Because Zhao is a non-citizen, he’s ineligible for a minimum security facility, Burck notes.
And because he’s so well-known as a wealthy man, and because Binance is cooperating with the government, there’s a real risk in being in certain facilities, Burck says.
Elizabeth Lopatto
We are now discussing “general deterrence.”
Will the sentence deter other people? Government said Zhao should be punished or else there will be a perverse incentive to do what Zhao did. Burck is arguing that prison time will tell people not to come to the US and accept responsibility for their crimes.
Elizabeth Lopatto
One thing I’ve been wondering...
If the government wanted to put Zhao in jail for serious time, why did they let him plead to something with such a short sentence? It makes me wonder about the matter under seal we keep hearing about.
Elizabeth Lopatto
“This is unprecedented in terms of volume, scale and massiveness in dollar impact of noncompliance,” says Judge Richard Jones.
He and Burck are having a back-and-forth now about the appropriateness of jail time as recommended by the probation department.
Gaby Del Valle
Emma Roth
Meta’s Quest headsets now let you view panoramic images in VR.
As part of its v65 release, Meta has announced that Quest 3, Quest Pro, and Quest 2 owners with iOS 17 can now upload panoramic images to the Quest mobile app and view them in VR. It’s also expanding the ability to upload and view spatial videos to all iPhone users with iOS 17.
Image: Meta
Elizabeth Lopatto
I do find it curious that defense lawyers keep referring to “a mistake.”
We know from CZ’s messages quoted in multiple court cases that avoiding anti-money laundering controls was not exactly a mistake but a strategy. The language cuts against the idea that CZ is taking “full responsibility” for his misconduct...