How Changpeng built the fortune
Zhao, widely known by his initials CZ, made his fortune by founding Binance during the cryptocurrency boom of 2017. The exchange launched in July of that year after raising money through the sale of its own token, BNB, and within months it was handling more trading volume than any rival. It grew by listing new coins quickly, charging low fees and offering its platform in many languages to users around the world.
Zhao is reported to own the large majority of Binance, which is private and does not disclose its accounts in the way a listed company would. Exchanges earn fees on every trade, and Binance's volume across spot trading, futures and other products produced very large profits in strong market years. He also holds a substantial amount of BNB and other digital assets, so his fortune moves with crypto prices as well as with the fortunes of the exchange.
The business faced intense regulatory pressure as it grew. In November 2023 Binance agreed to pay more than 4 billion dollars to settle US charges related to anti-money laundering and sanctions violations, and Zhao pleaded guilty to failing to maintain an effective anti-money laundering program. He stepped down as chief executive, though he kept his ownership stake.
Companies and holdings
Zhao's main holdings and ventures include:
- His majority stake in Binance, which offers spot and derivatives trading, a crypto wallet and payments services
- Large holdings of BNB, the token used across the BNB Chain blockchain network
- YZi Labs, the investment arm formerly called Binance Labs, which backs blockchain, artificial intelligence and biotechnology startups
After leaving the chief executive role he has said he will not return to running the exchange. Richard Teng succeeded him as chief executive, and Binance has since worked to rebuild relationships with regulators in several countries. Zhao also launched Giggle Academy, a free online education project for children.
Binance's early years were marked by frequent moves. It started in China but relocated soon after Chinese authorities banned token sales and domestic crypto exchanges in 2017, and it later operated from Japan, Malta and other places as regulators in each country examined its activities. A separate US affiliate, Binance.US, was set up in 2019 to serve American customers under local rules. In 2025 an investment fund backed by Abu Dhabi made a 2 billion dollar minority investment in Binance, its first major outside investment.
Early life and career
Changpeng Zhao was born in 1977 in Jiangsu province, China. His father was a university lecturer, and when Zhao was about 12 the family moved to Vancouver, Canada. As a teenager he worked part-time jobs, including at a fast food restaurant, to help the family. He studied computer science at McGill University in Montreal.
After graduating he built trading software, first on a contract basis for the Tokyo Stock Exchange and then for Bloomberg Tradebook, where he developed systems for futures trading. In 2005 he moved to Shanghai and founded Fusion Systems, which made high-frequency trading software for brokers. He learned about Bitcoin in 2013, sold his apartment to buy the currency, and worked at Blockchain.info and then as chief technology officer of the exchange OKCoin before starting Binance. The company has since moved its operations between several jurisdictions and does not name a single global headquarters.
Philanthropy and public life
Binance set up a charitable arm, Binance Charity, in 2018, which has run crypto-funded relief efforts after disasters and education programs. Zhao has said publicly that he intends to give away the great majority of his wealth during his lifetime, but there is limited public detail on how much he has donated personally so far.
He served four months in a US federal prison in 2024 after his guilty plea and was released in September of that year. In October 2025 President Donald Trump granted him a pardon. Zhao lives in the United Arab Emirates, holds citizenship there and in Canada, and remains an active voice on social media, where he comments on crypto markets, regulation and the projects he supports.