KEY POINTS
- Among the pitches brought on Zhao's table is a decentralized AI project called Ceti AI
- Arena, a SocialFi project, was also recommended to the former Binance CEO
- Then there's Impact Digital Art, an NFT marketplace that presents itself as a project with a philanthropic flare
- Zhao revealed his free blockchain-powered education platform is doing well and his book is in the works
Binance co-founder Changpeng "CZ" Zhao confirmed Saturday he has been released from prison after four months in jail for failing to provide users of the popular cryptocurrency exchange with adequate security protections.
CZ took to X (formerly Twitter) to express his gratefulness and also revealed his plans moving forward. Many crypto users welcomed him back to the industry, and others took the opportunity to pitch themselves, given Zhao's announcement shortly after his sentencing that he will continue to invest in blockchain and crypto.
Others had a different agenda, including a growing number of commenters on his post who, throughout the weekend, urged the crypto leader to help victims of the massive WazirX exploit that saw over $230 million in losses.
Here are the top projects that crypto users and teams pitched to Zhao for his consideration.
Ceti – Decentralizing Artificial Intelligence
Ceti, a decentralized AI project, welcomed CZ back into the crypto space, revealing that the team has been "accumulating hardware and setting up decentralized AI compute to provide companies that want a truly decentralized system."
Welcome back! If you're looking at Decentralized AI, I'd love to chat. We've been accumulating hardware and setting up decentralized AI compute to provide to companies that want a truly decentralized system. Our CEO is former CEO for bitcoin magazine.
— ceτi AI (@ceti_ai) September 29, 2024
Would love to chat!
Some crypto users tagged Zhao in the Ceti team's comment, saying the project will make a huge impact on the future of AI.
According to the Ceti website, the team is on a mission to build high-performance, scalable, and globally distributed AI infrastructure to enable distributed networks and developers "to rapidly outpace the capabilities and reach of centralized AI."
Arena – 'Next-Gen' SocialFi App
One user pitched the Arena SocialFi (social finance) app to the crypto mogul, saying it "opens the door to the future of SocialFi." Crypto token and non-fungible token (NFT) enthusiasts took to the comments section to support the idea of Zhao possibly checking out Arena.
@cz_binance Sounds like a well-deserved break and exciting future plans! 🚀 While you’re gearing up for new adventures, you should definitely check out the Arena Social Fi App. 🔥
— Wurfel 9000🔺💎🔺 (@krypto_wurfel) September 29, 2024
As decentralized tech and social finance rise, Arena opens the door to the future of Social Fi.… pic.twitter.com/EIDUY5PeQ3
The decentralized social media platform comes with the $ARENA token, which is a governance token that is freely transferable when claimed. Arena describes itself as a project "born 'by the people, for the people,'" where creators can unite and engage.
Impact Digital Art – NFTs With a Purpose
The project heaped praise on Zhao's comeback post, wherein he talked about his plans for charity and education after his time in jail. The team said it would appreciate CZ's backing.
Gm!! Hello CZ, we have appreciated a lot that you are finally back!!
— $IDART Coin (@IDARTCoin) September 29, 2024
And it is very good to see that right your first post here you talked about "Impact" and about "Charity projects" maonly through Web3 Tech!
We are exactly focused on it here in our NFT Marketplace… pic.twitter.com/WUgW1d2Dnl
According to the Impact Digital Art website, the project is an NFT marketplace where "art, Web3, technology, and social, humanitarian and environmental impact walk all together."
The team also has a token project, the IDART coin, which it said was created for the purpose of supporting charity causes, including climate-related initiatives.
One user commented on the pitch, saying it was good to find token projects "with a real and good purpose and not only s***coins in the market."
Many other commenters pitched a host of crypto tokens, including NEIRO, RUNES, and MSI. Other crypto users focused on celebrating Zhao's freedom.
What Zhao Said
While CZ has yet to comment on the pitched projects, his post revealed what he has been doing in the months when he served time and also provided a preview of what he will do next.
gm, the food taste so good... And what a luxury to be able to have more than one piece of fruit per day!
— CZ 🔶 BNB (@cz_binance) September 29, 2024
I know some of you may have a lot of questions. I won't have all the answers.
Let me chill for a bit. Then figure out the next steps. There are always more opportunities in… https://t.co/9hvgp8Bo97
- Giggle Academy – Zhao announced his new project shortly after his sentencing. The educational platform will provide free learning materials that will utilize blockchain-based tokens for student achievements. He said the project is doing well and "will be a big part of my life for the next few years."
- Investments – CZ said he will continue to invest in blockchain and decentralized technologies, as well as AI and biotech. "I am a long term investor who care[s] about impact, not returns," he wrote.
- Charity Funding – The former Binance CEO, who had to step down from his post as part of his guilty plea, said he will dedicate more time and funding to charitable initiatives and education.
- Book – Zhao said he is working on a book that's "about 2/3 done."
Zhao was supposed to be freed Sunday, but Bloomberg reported that he was released Friday. Aside from leaving his CEO role at Binance, the world's largest crypto exchange by trading volume, CZ also agreed to pay a $50 million fine as part of his guilty plea, while Binance agreed to pay a staggering $4 billion penalty.
