The founder of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange — and one of the world’s richest men — will be sentenced in federal court this week after pleading guilty to money laundering violations in what the Justice Department hopes will “send a message” to the world. 

Only a month after the disgraced founder of FTX and “king of crypto,” Sam Bankman-Fried, was sentenced to 25 years in prison, the founder of Binance, Changpeng Zhao, could face a three-year prison sentence if federal prosecutors get their way.

In November, Zhao — who Forbes estimates has a net worth of $33 billion — stepped down from his role as chief executive in the company, and Binance agreed to pay more than $4 billion in a settlement with the Justice Department. 

“In just the past month, the Justice Department has successfully prosecuted the CEOs of two of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges in two separate criminal cases,” Attorney General Garland said at the time.

In addition to the series of prosecutions targeting the crypto kingpins, the newly unfolding crypto world has been facing a more than two-year-long anti-crypto crusade led by Senator Warren. 

Ms. Warren, whose office did not return a request for comment, has been pushing the Digital Asset Anti-Money Laundering Act — arguing that a federal crackdown would help prevent terrorist groups, hackers, and drug lords from laundering money and evading sanctions. 

The proposed legislation has been the subject of fierce debate as crypto advocates, including the Chamber of Digital Commerce, say her legislation is a “political attack” that would be “an effective ban on cryptocurrency” and argue bitcoin and other currencies are already regulated. 

It is “critical that Congress pass legislation to establish a federal regulatory framework to prevent bad actors from harming consumers and investors and to give clarity to businesses that want to build and innovate in the United States,” the head of government affairs at the Crypto Council for Innovation, Brett Quick, tells the Sun. “Bipartisan lawmakers are continuing to negotiate the policy for both stablecoin regulation and broader market structure regulation and remain committed to getting these bills over the finish line.”

As legislative debates unfold in Congress, the Justice Department has sought to make an example out of Zhao. Ahead of the sentencing on Tuesday by a federal district judge, Richard Jones, Zhao’s lawyers are seeking probation instead of jail time.

In a letter to the judge ahead of sentencing, Zhao cast himself as a hardworking son of immigrants who became interested in crypto because of the “inclusiveness and equal opportunity it provides to everyone in the world.” In the future, he said he sees himself focusing on youth education programs and healthcare innovation startups. 

“Words cannot explain how deeply I regret my choices that result in me being before the Court,” Zhao wrote. “Please accept my assurance that this will be my only encounter with the criminal justice system and that going forward I will live my life in a manner that will make everyone proud.”

Prosecutors are seeking 36 months in prison time, arguing that the scope of Zhao’s conduct calls for greater punishment than the 12-18 months laid out in sentencing guidelines.

Under Zhao’s direction, Binance used a “Wild West model” to become “the colossus of crypto exchanges,” making willful decisions to violate federal anti-money laundering requirements, prosecutors wrote. Binance “processed trillions of dollars in cryptocurrency trades per year and massively profited from the U.S. financial system, U.S. businesses, and U.S. customers — all without playing by U.S. rules,” they added.

Because of the importance financial institutions play in the American financial system, prosecutors argued his sentence should “reflect the gravity of his crimes.” 

“The sentence in this case will not just send a message to Zhao but also to the world,” the prosecutors wrote. “Zhao reaped vast rewards for his violation of U.S. law, and the price of that violation must be significant to effectively punish Zhao for his criminal acts and to deter others who are tempted to build fortunes and business empires by breaking U.S. law.”