Changpeng Zhao, the founder and former CEO of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, served a four-month prison sentence and was released from custody on Friday.

While he stepped down as Binance’s CEO, he remains its largest shareholder.

Almost a year ago, the US Department of Justice announced a massive $4.3 billion settlement with the exchange he then led. This came after years of investigations by various organizations, and Binance and its founder pleaded guilty to willfully violating the Bank Secrecy Act.

Zhao’s guild appeal was related to the failure to implement a robust anti-money laundering (AML) program. He was forced to step down as Binance’s CEO and pay a $50 million fine.

CZ was also sentenced to four months in prison in late April, well short of the three years he had requested. At the time, he said:

“I will serve my time, finish this phase, and focus on the next chapter of my life. I will remain a passive investor (and holder) of crypto. Our industry has entered a new phase. Compliance is very important. The positive thing about this whole process is that Binance is under the microscope. And the funds are safe. Protect the users!”

His sentence was supposed to end on September 29, but since that event falls on a Sunday, he was released on the last working day before the weekend, Friday.

Binance’s native token has performed well this week, when CZ was supposed to be released. It is up 6% on a seven-day scale and is trading well above $600. Zhao still reportedly owns about 64% of the total BNB supply.

Zhao has previously said that he already has ideas for what to do after his release from prison. The project, called Giggle Academy , will aim to provide free education in a playful and adaptive manner.