Many are wondering about what former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried's 25-year sentence—which he received after being found guilty on seven criminal counts—might entail for Changpeng Zhao.

Changpeng "CZ" Zhao, the former CEO of Binance, has more than 160 days to appear before a federal judge after entering a guilty plea to a single felony charge as part of a settlement deal with US authorities.

One of the most anticipated court hearings in the cryptocurrency field since the conviction and imprisonment of former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried is set to take place in United States District Court for the Western District of Washington on April 30, with Judge Richard Jones set to hear arguments from prosecutors and CZ's attorneys.

Zhao's sentence hearing has already been rescheduled once, yet as of this writing, it was scheduled at the end of the month.

Zhao entered a guilty plea to one count in November 2023 for breaking the Bank Secrecy Act by neglecting to keep an efficient anti-money laundering (AML) programme while working at Binance.

In exchange for the crypto exchange and Zhao agreeing to pay $4.3 billion to settle "civil regulatory enforcement actions" in the US, which excluded a Securities and Exchange Commission complaint, he resigned as CEO.

Judge Jones has the authority to sentence CZ to a maximum of 10 years in federal prison under US sentencing guidelines; nevertheless, a proposed term of 12 to 18 months is appropriate for the charge CZ is facing.

On March 28, Bankman-Fried was sentenced to 25 years in prison, but there aren't many parallels between the two cases, except from the fact that prominent figures in the crypto industry are involved. Some have speculated that Zhao might not serve any time in prison because of his guilty plea and cooperation with the police.

Former Vice President Joe Biden's Director of Administration Moe Vela told Cointelegraph,

"I would say [these cases] are not comparable from a charges perspective, but they are extremely comparable from the perspective that the [Justice Department], the SEC, and the federal government are making it very clear that they are not going to tolerate nefarious behaviour."

Regardless of whether the judge sentences CZ harshly, Vela continued, U.S. officials might be attempting to "send a message" to illegal actors in the cryptocurrency field.

Still, he predicted that because of Zhao's cooperation and guilty plea, the judge would "see some leniency" for the former CEO of Binance.

In contrast to Bankman-Fried's criminal case, Mark Bini, a former Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Eastern District of New York, told Cointelegraph that CZ's case felt more "like a regulatory offence."

He did, however, acknowledge that there was a chance that developments surrounding Hamas' attack on Israel would have an impact on the judge presiding over CZ's sentencing.

Following the Hamas attack, numerous stories have surfaced claiming that cryptocurrency is being used to finance terrorist groups. The claims might not be wholly unconnected to the exchange's legal lawsuit and the former CEO of Binance's accusation of neglecting to run an AML programme.

"The wild card and potential lines of public opinion In line with the government's perception of the situation, Binance is the target of a lawsuit alleging that it has laundered money linked to Hamas, according to Bini. "Something like that [...] might be framed in a way that demonstrates the gravity of the real-world repercussions of what appears to be a regulatory offence, which prosecutors might argue should be taken into account."

Bini continued:

"The judge may feel that a more significant sentence is necessary because the facts of the case are so compelling in some negative way for CZ."

Zhao was granted a $175 million bond and has been primarily free to travel within specific regions of the United States since his guilty plea.

His legal counsel has submitted multiple requests, but the judge has dismissed the former CEO of Binance's requests to visit family in the United Arab Emirates prior to his hearing