Changpeng Zhao, also known as CZ, is a Chinese-Canadian entrepreneur, well known as the founder and former CEO of Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange. On October 23, 2025 United States President Donald Trump gave CZ a full pardon. ^{[12] [43] [39] [40] [57]}

Early Life & Education

CZ was born on September 10, 1977, in Jiangsu province, China to his Chinese parents, who were both teachers in China. His father was a professor in China before he was branded "pro-bourgeoisie intellect" and exiled from his country. When he was 12 years old, CZ moved with his family to Vancouver, Canada where they settled.^[12]

During his teenage years, Zhao helped support his family by working several service industry jobs, including at a Chevron gas station, at McDonald’s, and as a referee at volleyball games.^[6]

While in Canada, CZ attended McGill University in Montreal, Canada where he earned a computer science degree.^[6]

Career

After college, CZ began working for the Tokyo Stock Exchange, developing software for matching trade orders. He also worked at Bloomberg Tradebook, a developer of futures trading software. In 2005, CZ quit his role as head of the Bloomberg Tradebook Futures Research & Development team and moved to Shanghai to start Fusion Systems, known for building "some of the fastest high-frequency trading systems for brokers."^[6][7]

CZ learned about Bitcoin in early 2013 while playing poker with his friends. Bitcoin then was new and CZ had no idea about it but found it to be interesting so he decided to learn more. He read the whole Bitcoin whitepaper to get more understanding of the new technology. ^[14]

He fully got invested into the cryptocurrency industry in December 2013. While attending a conference in Las Vegas, he had the opportunity to meet Vitalik Buterin, one of the co-founders of Ethereum. During this encounter, CZ also met someone who was quite influential in his journey into the world of crypto. This individual demonstrated Ripple to CZ and even transferred $500 worth of Ripple's token, XRP, to him, encouraging him to use it to teach others about the technology. ^[35]

This encounter had a profound impact on CZ, and he eventually quit his job and sold his house to fully immerse himself in the world of crypto. He faced criticism from his friends and family who said he was foolish for making such a decision. Two months later, Bitcoin crashed by 70% and CZ lost over 700,000 thousand dollars.^[14][35]

Later, Zhao also worked on various cryptocurrency projects including Blockchain.com, and served as chief technology officer of OKCoin, attempting to spread his vision of integrating blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies into businesses and everyday life. ^[6][36]

“If you pick one business, and integrate [it] with crypto, I fully believe cryptocurrencies will give a much stronger financial funding power.”

On March 19th, 2024, Changpeng Zhao unveiled Giggle Academy, a nonprofit online education platform, focusing on grades 1 to 12. It aims to offer a gamified curriculum covering traditional subjects and advanced topics like blockchain and AI, all free and online. Zhao clarified that the project is non-crypto related, emphasizing its educational mission.^[51][45][46]

Binance

In 2017, CZ left OKCoin to start a cryptocurrency exchange called Binance. Its name was a combination of two words: “binary,” as in the ones and zeros of computer code, and “finance.” He launched the exchange on July 14, 2017, following a $15 million funding raised during an initial coin offering.^[8][9] By 2018, Binance had already become the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world, with a market cap exceeding $1.3 billion.^[15]

In August 2018, Binance made their first public acquisition, buying Trust Wallet, a secure Ethereum wallet app, to enhance its services and improve user safety. The acquisition added an on-chain mobile wallet to Binance's offerings while giving the Trust Wallet team the freedom to continue developing their product. Binance aimed to offer better security, services, and support to users with this acquisition, and also expected to pave the way for future integrations with other services. ^[20][21]

In January 2019, Binance partnered with Simplex to offer crypto purchases with a debit or credit card. In September, the company began offering perpetual futures contracts allowing for 125x leveraging on the contracts. Additionally, Binance.us was launched in nearly all of the United States.^[15]

In March 2020, Binance acquired the leading cryptocurrency data tracking platform CoinMarketCap for a sum of $400 million. CZ aimed to further develop CoinMarketCap and increase Binance's exposure to CoinMarketCap's large following. ^[22][23]

In September 2020, Binance launched their Binance Smart Chain (BSC), a blockchain network developed by Binance that allows for the creation and management of decentralized applications (DApps) through smart contracts. It was created to overcome the programmability limitations of the initial Binance Chain and offers high transaction capacity through its integration with the Ethereum Virtual Machine. ^[24][25]

“Right now it is one of our larger businesses that support our growth. But over the long term, we want to push decentralization.”

On February 15th 2022, Binance Chain and Binance Smart Chain merged into BNB Chain. BNB Chain comprises BNB Beacon Chain and BNB Smart Chain. BNB, which stands for "Build and Build" is a gas token that powers transactions on the chain. The change brings advancements to benefit users, projects, and developers, including scaling to multi-chain, boosting throughput, introducing on-chain governance, and expanding the validator set. The BNB Chain will support large-scale applications, such as GameFi, SocialFi, and the Metaverse. ^[37]

In June 2021, Binance launched Binance NFT, a top non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace with premier exhibitions, global auctions, and low fees. It offers two categories: "Premium Event" for sought-after collaborations and "Trading Market" for low-cost NFT creation. Changpeng Zhao’s main goal was to open up the NFT space to the massive Binance community. ^[26]

However, in November of 2023, Changpeng Zhao stepped down as the CEO of Binance.

Awards & Recognition

In 2018, Zhao was the nominee for Golden Token Awards and ended up being the 2018 CEO of the Year. His crypto exchange Binance also won the Best in Trading/DEX award.^[10]

In 2020, CZ was recognized in the Bloomberg 50 as one of the most influential people of the year.

On December 2022, CoinDesk announced Changpeng Zhao as CoinDesk’s Most Influential 2022. They highlighted Binance’s support, following the downfall of rival cryptocurrency exchange FTX, committing $1 billion to a recovery fund, making CZ seen as the new "savior" of the crypto world, seen in a Bloomberg article headlined, ““Binance’s Billionaire CEO Casts Himself as Crypto’s New Savior”. ^[19]

Investments

According to Bloomberg, Binance has so far invested $325 million in 67 projects this year. The spending for 2022 could exceed $1 billion. He made a $200 million investment in Forbes and a $500 million in equity funding as part of a $7 billion financing pledge to support Elon Musk's acquisition of Twitter.^[16]

As the major head of Binance Lab, In June 2022, Binance Labs, the venture capital and incubation arm of Binance, Closed a $500M Investment Fund to Boost Blockchain, Web3, and Value-Building Technologies. In contrast, the corporation spent $140 million on 73 different projects in 2021.^[13]

Philanthropy

CZ donating to fight COVID-19

On April 3rd 2020, Changpeng Zhao, committed at least $2.4 million to purchase COVID-19 medical supplies. Binance Charity Foundation (BCF), the company's philanthropic arm, plans to donate up to $2 million more to provide essential medical supplies such as masks and ventilators directly to hospitals in need. BCF has already donated $1 million and raised around $200,000 in cryptocurrency from the public. Zhao estimates Binance's total contributions will add up to approximately $5 million, with a focus on delivering PPE to hospitals in severely impacted countries such as Italy, the United States, and Germany. ^[27][28]

“The pandemic has changed the world as we know it; it will never be the same again. And in this new world, we believe crypto will play an ever increasing role.”“It has always been our ethos to help others. It’s human nature to feel good when helping others. It gives us a strong sense of satisfaction, a purpose of being. “

CZ to donate most of his wealth

In November 2021 Changpeng Zhao revealed his plan to donate up to 99% of his wealth in an interview with The Associated Press. Like other business magnates such as John D. Rockefeller, Zhao intends to give away most of his wealth. Although his net worth is around $2 billion, it could reach up to $200 billion if Binance exits near its current valuation of $300 billion. However, Zhao stated that he is financially free and doesn't need a lot of money. He holds only bitcoin and Binance coin (BNB), and the majority of his net worth is in BNB. ^[29]

"I do intend to give away most of my wealth, like many wealthy entrepreneurs or founders did from Rockefeller until today. I do intend to give away 90, 95, or 99% of my wealth,"

Binance partners with Jokkolabs

In July 2022, Changpeng Zhao visited Ivory Coast and Senegal to connect with people and policymakers. CZ emphasized the significance of blockchain for the financial economy and expressed the company's commitment to collaborating with African policymakers. CZ announced Binance's partnership with Jokkolabs, through which Binance will launch blockchain awareness and education programs in communities across Francophone Africa. The partnership aimed to reinforce the region as a hub of blockchain innovation and entrepreneurship, with monetary donation used to fund community education workshops that will increase blockchain literacy and skills. ^[33][34]

CZ's visit followed Binance's previous partnerships with Senegalese TikTok creator Khaby Lame and AFCON, the biggest international football championship in Africa, indicating Binance's dedication to driving blockchain adoption in the region. ^[33]

CZ Joins Pakistan Crypto Council as Advisor

On April 7, 2025, Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, was named Strategic Advisor to the Pakistan Crypto Council (PCC). ^[60]

The appointment was announced during a Monday meeting with top Pakistani officials, including Finance Minister Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb, SECP Chairman, State Bank Governor, and Federal Secretaries for Law and IT. CZ Zhao also met with Pakistan’s Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister.

Commenting on the move, Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb, Finance Minister of Pakistan and Chairman of PCC, said that CZ’s appointment plays a key role in Pakistan’s ongoing push to accelerate its digital finance transformation. ^[60]

CZ Comments on Crypto Inheritance & Platform Resilience

On June 19, 2025, Changpeng Zhao (CZ) publicly emphasized the importance of crypto platforms preparing for scenarios in which users may pass away. In a post on X, CZ encouraged platforms to implement or improve inheritance features, stating:

“This is a topic people avoid, but the fact is, humans cannot live forever yet. Every platform should have a ‘will function’—so that when someone is no longer around, their assets can be distributed to designated accounts according to specified proportions. Regulatory frameworks should also allow minors to have accounts (they can be restricted from trading, but should be allowed to receive funds).” ^[50]

His remarks highlighted both the growing maturity of the crypto industry and the importance of user asset continuity, particularly in the context of inheritance planning and decentralized finance longevity. ^{[50] [57]}

Bloomberg Case & Settlement Details

In July 2024, two years after a lawsuit was filed, Bloomberg's Chinese-language franchisee published a formal apology to Zhao, settling the case. The publisher retracted the "false and baseless" headline, "Changpeng Zhao's Ponzi Scheme," without reservation and apologized for any harm caused to Zhao and Binance. As part of the settlement, an agreed sum was donated to the Songzi, Hubei Province Special Education Foundation in lieu of damages, and the case was dismissed.^[58]

The lawsuit originated on July 26th 2022, when Changpeng Zhao initiated a lawsuit against Modern Media, the Hong Kong publisher of Bloomberg Businessweek, for defamation. The lawsuit was a result of a translated version of a Bloomberg Businessweek article, which carried a headline that portrayed Zhao as running a "Ponzi scheme." In response, Zhao demanded a retraction from Modern Media, as well as removal of the edition from circulation and a restraining order to prevent further dissemination of the portrayal. ^[18][52]

Binance and FTX

In November 2022, a series of events involving Binance and FTX took place in the span of 3 days. First, Binance announced it was selling its remaining $580 million worth of FTT tokens, citing "recent revelations." Binance's CEO, Changpeng Zhao, said the move was part of a risk management strategy and not directed against a competitor. ^[53][30]

Next, Binance agreed to acquire FTX for an undisclosed sum, after FTX suffered a liquidity crisis. ^[54][31]

"This afternoon, FTX asked for our help. There is a significant liquidity crunch. To protect users, we signed a non-binding LOI, intending to fully acquire http://FTX.com and help cover the liquidity crunch. We will be conducting a full DD in the coming days."

However, a day after the non-binding deal was announced, Binance reversed course and abandoned its plans to purchase FTX's non-US businesses. Binance stated that the decision was made as a result of corporate due diligence, as well as news reports regarding mishandled customer funds and alleged U.S. agency investigations, concluding that the issues were "beyond our control or ability to help."^[32]

Binance and CZ Settle Federal Charges

On November 21, 2023, Binance and Changpeng Zhao settled with the U.S. Department of Justice. The settlement required Binance to pay $4.3 billion in penalties and forfeiture. As part of the agreement, Zhao stepped down as CEO, paid a personal fine of $50 million, and was succeeded by Richard Teng. The deals were approved by a U.S. district judge in December 2023.^{[41] [43] [42] [44]}

Zhao was subsequently sentenced to four months in prison. He began serving his sentence on June 1, 2024, and was released on September 27, 2024.^{[47] [48] [49]}

Presidential Pardon

On October 23, 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump issued a presidential pardon for Changpeng Zhao. ^[55]

In a statement on X, Zhao's lawyer, Teresa Goody Guillén, expressed "profound gratitude" to President Trump, stating his "courage and moral clarity made this day possible." She added that the decision was a "reclamation of justice" after what she described as "years of relentless lawfare" and "prosecutions driven by a political war on crypto and innovation."^[59]

Following the pardon, Teresa Goody Guillén also commented that the pardon was for a "single charge of failure to have an effective compliance program," emphasizing that the case involved no fraud, no victims, no criminal history, and no money laundering. She also noted that the judge found no evidence that Zhao was aware of any illicit transactions. ^[56]

Following the announcement, Zhao expressed his gratitude on the social media platform X:

Deeply grateful for today’s pardon and to President Trump for upholding America’s commitment to fairness, innovation, and justice. Will do everything we can to help make America the Capital of Crypto and advance web3 worldwide.