Since pleading guilty in November 2023, Binance founder and former CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao has mainly stayed off social media platforms ahead of his sentencing in April. He, however, broke this pattern on Monday to debut a new nonprofit online education platform dubbed “Giggle Academy”.
Zhao Launches Giggle Academy
In a Monday X post, Changpeng Zhao teased an education-focused project related to cryptocurrency or blockchain technology. CZ was swift to preemptively dismiss any speculation about an upcoming token launch. “No, no new tokens,” he opined.
In a follow-up post, the former Binance CEO announced the launch of a project called Giggle Academy. “Let’s make basic education accessible and entertaining to children all around the world,” CZ said, explaining that Project Giggle is hiring a small team and that one of the benefits is the opportunity to work directly with him.
“Free basic (grade 1-12 ish) education for all, no revenue, gamified, adaptive,” Zhao continued, providing a link to the Project Giggle concept paper and official website.
The concept paper highlights statistics indicating that “over 75% of the world’s 781 million illiterate adults are found in South Asia, West Asia, and sub-Saharan Africa, and women represent almost two-thirds of all illiterate adults globally.” Giggle Academy seeks to provide free, online courses from grades 1-12 across core subjects and also topics like emotional intelligence, finance, and blockchain technology.
“Building a high-quality and sticky education platform that is entirely free and accessible to all is the most impactful thing I could do for the next chapter of my life,” the embattled ex-Binance boss posited in a quote featured on the Giggle Academy website, which also has job postings for a Senior Game Developer and Gamification Product Manager.
Zhao’s Downfall
The announcement comes as CZ awaits sentencing on charges of violating the Bank Secrecy Act by directing Binance to let U.S. customers use the platform without conducting appropriate know-your-customer or anti-money laundering checks.
In November, Zhao pleaded guilty and agreed to resign as part of a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice. Binance was ordered to pay $4.3 billion in penalties to various federal agencies and completely exit the U.S. market as part of its own plea deal.
Zhao agreed to pay $50 million in fines and is currently free on a $175 million personal recognizance bond. However, he has been unable to travel back to his family in the United Arab Emirates ahead of the April 30 sentencing hearing after District Judge Richard Jones imposed travel restrictions, deeming him a flight risk. He is facing 10 to 18 months behind bars under federal sentencing guidelines.
Despite his legal woes, Zhao appears to be excited and hopeful about Project Giggle and its role in society. The concept paper describes an ambitious vision to “make basic education accessible, addictive and adaptive, to the kids who don’t have access to them today, all around the world, for free.”
