US law stipulates that Zhao could face up to 18 months in prison. The prosecution is seeking double that for "willful violations".
Zhao, 47, one of the most powerful figures in the crypto industry, admitted last November that he failed to comply with anti-money laundering requirements and then resigned as Binance's top executive. Binance agreed to pay a fine of $4.32 billion after this confession.
Prosecutors say Binance failed to report more than 100,000 suspicious transactions to several groups, including Hamas, al-Qaeda and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
Prosecutors also say the platform promoted the sale of child sexual abuse material and was the recipient of a large portion of the ransomware proceeds.
