BlockTower Capital founder: Zhao Changpeng's crimes are the same as SBF's, and the U.S. has given the former a lighter sentence for the sake of protecting user funds and other considerations

ChainCatcher news, BlockTower Capital founder and CIO Ari Paul opposes CryptoQuant CEO Ki Young Ju's positive view of Zhao Changpeng, stating, "The crimes committed by Zhao Changpeng are the same as those of SBF. If the federal government is willing, they could sentence Zhao Changpeng to life in prison. Zhao Changpeng stole customer deposits and gambled. He has dozens of charges against him, deceiving retail investors in numerous ways. He deliberately facilitated money laundering for criminal organizations and worse. Why is he only charged with a little? Because the federal government is concerned that he might bribe the Emirati sheik to obtain sovereign immunity and abscond with over $30 billion of retail funds, and because the federal government wants a large amount of evidence to prove the industry's guilt in Binance documents."

It is noteworthy that the Reuters report cited by Ari Paul accuses Zhao Changpeng of obtaining approximately $11 billion in customer assets through trading firms. In response, CryptoQuant CEO Ki Young Ju referenced the U.S. Department of Justice's statement regarding the charges against Zhao Changpeng, stating that the Reuters report lacks conclusive evidence and only raises indirect suspicions without legal conviction. Furthermore, "the Department of Justice did not accuse Zhao Changpeng of misappropriating customer funds, but rather of conspiring to commit money laundering."

Others have also expressed differing opinions on Ari Paul's viewpoint. They argue that it is illogical for someone who has already become a billionaire to choose to steal $30 billion to hold a small country hostage. Additionally, Binance also has clients from the UAE, and "theft" would also face legal repercussions in the UAE.