CZ (Changpeng Zhao)

Extracted Attributes

• Education

  Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Computer Science, McGill University (Montreal, Canada)

• Net Worth

  $88.0 billion (as of October 2025)

• Birth Year

  1977

• Birthplace

  Lianyungang, Jiangsu, China

• Citizenship

  Canada, United Arab Emirates

• Global Wealth Rank

  21st-richest person in the world (Forbes, October 2025)

• Number of Children

  5

• National Wealth Rank

  Richest Canadian (Forbes, October 2025)

Timeline

• Born in Lianyungang, Jiangsu, China. (Source: Wikipedia)

  1977-01-01

• Introduced to Bitcoin by Ron Tao and Bobby Lee; joined Blockchain.info as head of development. (Source: Document c84b95ee-214b-4e24-b48a-09ad00fb592f)

  2013-01-01

• Launched Binance through an Initial Coin Offering (ICO) and established the BNB Token. (Source: Document c84b95ee-214b-4e24-b48a-09ad00fb592f)

  2017-07-01

• Resigned as CEO of Binance and pleaded guilty to violating the Bank Secrecy Act following a DOJ investigation. (Source: Wikipedia)

  2023-11-21

• Sentenced to four months in a U.S. federal prison. (Source: Wikipedia)

  2024-04-30

• Completed prison sentence and was released. (Source: Wikipedia)

  2024-09-27

• State-owned firm MGX of Abu Dhabi invested $2 billion into Binance using the USD1 stablecoin. (Source: CNBC)

  2025-03-01

• Received a presidential pardon from Donald Trump. (Source: Wikipedia)

  2025-10-01

• Interviewed at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, regarding his pardon and future projects. (Source: CNBC)

  2026-01-22

Changpeng Zhao

Changpeng Zhao (Chinese: 赵长鹏; pinyin: Zhào Chángpéng; born 1977), commonly known as CZ, is a businessman who is known for co-founding cryptocurrency companies, such as Binance and Blockchain.com. He has also served as CTO of OKCoin and CEO of Binance. He resigned as the CEO of Binance in November 2023 after the U.S Department of Justice alleged he violated the Bank Secrecy Act and the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to four months in prison in April 2024. Zhao completed his sentence by September of the same year. In October 2025, Zhao was given a presidential pardon by President Donald Trump. According to Forbes, Zhao is the richest Canadian and the 21st-richest person in the world, with a net worth estimated at $88.0 billion as of October 2025.

Web Search Results

• Changpeng Zhao - Wikipedia

  Changpeng Zhao (Chinese: 赵长鹏; pinyin: Zhào Chángpéng; born 1977), commonly known as CZ, is a businessman who is known for co-founding cryptocurrency companies, such as Binance and Blockchain.com. He has also served as CTO of OKCoin and CEO of Binance. He resigned as the CEO of Binance in November 2023 after the U.S Department of Justice alleged he violated the Bank Secrecy Act and the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to four months in prison in April 2024. Zhao completed his sentence by September of the same year. In October 2025, Zhao was given a presidential pardon by President Donald Trump. [...] | Changpeng Zhao | | Zhao in 2022 | | Born | 1977 (age 48–49) Lianyungang, Jiangsu, China | | Other names | CZ | | Citizenship | Canada United Arab Emirates | | Alma mater | McGill University (BSc) | | Occupations | Businessman investor software engineer Advisor to the President of the Kyrgyz Republic | | Known for | Co-founder and former CEO of Binance CTO of OKCoin Co-founder of Blockchain.com | | Spouse | Yang Weiqing ​ (m. 2003⁠–⁠2005)​ | | Partner | Yi He (2014–present) | | Children | 5 | | Changpeng Zhao | | Traditional Chinese | 趙長鵬 | | Simplified Chinese | 赵长鹏 | | | Transcriptions | | Standard Mandarin | | Hanyu Pinyin | Zhào Chángpéng | | | | [...] 7. ^ "The World's Real-Time Billionaires". Forbes. 8. ^ "Who is Changpeng Zhao (CZ), the Founder of Binance?". en.coinotag.com. September 21, 2023. Archived from the original on October 13, 2023. Retrieved September 21, 2023. 9. ^ "Crossing the Digital Storm: The Legend of Zhao Changpeng and Binance - CaptainZ". Crossing the Digital Storm: The Legend of Zhao Changpeng and Binance - CaptainZ. November 28, 2023. Retrieved October 12, 2025. 10. ^ "赵长鹏与币安的崛起". 知乎专栏 (in Chinese). Archived from the original on June 18, 2023. Retrieved November 9, 2021. 11. ^ a b "Who Is Changpeng Zhao? – Forbes Advisor". www.forbes.com. Archived from the original on January 9, 2023. Retrieved January 9, 2023.

• Changpeng Zhao (CZ): The Rise and Fall of the King of Binance

  # Changpeng Zhao (CZ): The Rise and Fall of the King of Binance Alban Rossard The story of Changpeng Zhao, better known as CZ, is that of a visionary entrepreneur who turned a simple idea into one of the most influential empires in the crypto industry. Born in China in 1977, CZ emigrated to Canada with his family during his teenage years. After graduating with a degree in computer science from McGill University in Montreal, he began his career developing software for companies such as Bloomberg and Fusion Systems. He entered the world of cryptocurrency in 2013 when he joined Blockchain.info as head of development, before founding BijieTech, a cryptocurrency trading platform. Read more: African fintech companies: When financial innovation transforms a continent [...] Adaptability is a crucial quality in a constantly evolving industry such as cryptocurrency. CZ was able to adapt to market changes and new opportunities, but he failed to adapt to changing regulatory requirements, which ultimately led to his downfall. ## Conclusion The rise and fall of Changpeng Zhao marks an important chapter in the history of cryptocurrencies. His journey illustrates both the revolutionary potential of blockchain and the challenges of regulation in a rapidly evolving sector. As the crypto industry continues to mature, CZ's story will serve as a reminder that innovation must go hand in hand with responsibility and compliance with regulatory frameworks. [...] However, the legal case also highlighted the risks of unregulated growth and the dangers of openly defying financial authorities. CZ's case now serves as a warning to entrepreneurs in the crypto sector, reminding them of the importance of regulatory compliance, even in a field as innovative and disruptive as cryptocurrencies. ## Lessons for finance students Changpeng Zhao's story offers several valuable lessons for finance students: Innovation and boldness can lead to spectacular success, as demonstrated by Binance's meteoric rise. However, disregarding regulations can have serious consequences, as evidenced by CZ's conviction and the record fines imposed on Binance.

• Pardoned Binance founder denies business relationship with Trumps

  CNBC Join IC Join Pro Join IC Join Pro # Pardoned Binance founder Zhao says his business relationship with the Trumps was 'misconstrued' thumbnail In this article Binance founder Changpeng Zhao on Pres. Trump's pardon: Now I'm a real free man Binance founder Changpeng "CZ" Zhao said his business relationship with President Donald Trump's family has been "misconstrued" in the wake of his pardon. "There's no business relationships whatsoever," Zhao told CNBC's Andrew Ross Sorkin on Thursday in an interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. The former Binance CEO served four months in prison after pleading guilty in 2023 to charges he enabled money laundering during his time leading the company. Zhao was released in September 2024. [...] Trump's pardon in October 2025 drew attention to Binance's ties to World Liberty Financial, a crypto company founded by the president's family. The connection stems from a $2 billion investment in March 2025 by state-owned firm MGX of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, into Binance. MGX paid using USD1, a stablecoin created by World Liberty Financial. Zhao stepped down as Binance's CEO in 2023 as part of the plea deal and $4.3 billion settlement with the Department of Justice. He remains a major shareholder. "MGX is the investor. They choose USD1," Zhao told CNBC. "My request to them was they pay us in crypto. I don't want to deal with banks, really." "Many people misconstrued that," he added. [...] Zhao told CNBC at Davos that he has still not spoken directly with Trump. "The closest that I got to him was today when he was doing the Board of Peace session," Zhao said. "I was in the audience, about 30 to 40 feet away from him." In a CBS "60 Minutes" interview in November, Trump affirmed that he did not know Zhao. "I have no idea who he is," Trump said. "I was told that he was a victim, just like I was and just like many other people, of a vicious, horrible group of people in the Biden administration." — CNBC's Jacqueline Corba contributed to this story. CNBC logo #### News Tips Got a confidential news tip? We want to hear from you. #### CNBC Newsletters Sign up for free newsletters and get more CNBC delivered to your inbox

• CZ rejects 'contradicting' claims Binance fired investigators after Iran ...

  Advertisement Former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao pushed back Friday against claims the crypto exchange dismissed internal investigators after they uncovered Iran-linked transaction activity on the platform, calling the report “self-contradicting.” Responding on X to a report published earlier in the day by Fortune, Zhao said he was not familiar with the specifics but argued the account did not add up. If the allegations were accurate, Zhao said, one could just as easily argue that those same investigators failed to prevent suspicious activity in the first place. Zhao added that Binance runs transactions through multiple third-party anti-money laundering screening tools that are also used by law enforcement agencies. [...] Premium News Try it free ## Latest Crypto News ## Grayscale files to convert AAVE token trust into ETF to list on NYSE Arca Feb 13, 2026, 6:00PM EST • Funds ## Solana Company shares jump 17% as firm rolls out borrowing against staked SOL Feb 13, 2026, 4:24PM EST • Markets ## CryptoQuant says bitcoin's 'ultimate' bear market bottom is around $55,000 Feb 13, 2026, 3:57PM EST • Markets ## Tether invests in Hyperliquid frontend Dreamcash, offering perps markets for TSLA, gold and more using USDT0 collateral Feb 13, 2026, 3:46PM EST • DeFi See More Latest Crypto News # CZ rejects 'contradicting' claims Binance fired investigators after Iran-linked probe findings By Kyle Baird Exchanges • February 13, 2026, 1:25PM EST Make us preferred on Google [...] “You can put a negative narrative on anything by talking to an ‘anonymous source’ who is ‘unhappy’ or paid to FUD,” Zhao wrote. Fortune reported that members of Binance’s investigations unit were dismissed after flagging activity involving Iranian-linked counterparties on the exchange. The transactions allegedly totaled more than $1 billion over roughly an 18-month period and largely involved transfers of Tether’s USDT stablecoin conducted on the Tron blockchain. According to the report, at least five investigators were let go starting in late 2025 after internally raising concerns. Several reportedly had law enforcement backgrounds and worked on sanctions evasion and counter-terror financing investigations within the exchange.

• CZ BNB (@cz_binance) / Posts / X - Twitter

  Image 34 giggleacademy.com Giggle Academy | Free Learning Platform for Kids - Storybooks, Vocabulary, Literacy Giggle Academy is a free, child-friendly learning platform offering storybooks, vocabulary lessons, and foundational literacy programs. Empower children to learn through fun, interactive content. 8.2K 6.4K 31K 4.8M Image 35 CZ Image 36: 🔶 BNB @cz_binance · Sep 29, 2024 gm, the food taste so good... And what a luxury to be able to have more than one piece of fruit per day! 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 Show more Quote Image 37 CZ Image 38: 🔶 BNB @cz_binance · Sep 28, 2024 gm 12K 11K 84K 5.8M Image 39 [...] · Sep 28, 2024 gm 12K 11K 84K 5.8M Image 39 CZ Image 40: 🔶 BNB @cz_binance · Nov 29, 2021 I'm giving away a DOGE Tesla & $50,000 in $DOGE. Which do you want? To enter: Image 41: 🔸Retweet Image 42: 🔸Follow @elonmusk , @binance , @cz_binance Image 43: 🔸Have a KYC'd Binance account Image 44: 🔸Tweet the prize you want & why with hashtags #DOGEorTesla&#BinanceImage 45 Our favorite answer from each 'team' will win. Image 46 67K 101K 74K []( Image 47 CZ Image 48: 🔶 BNB @cz_binance · Apr 23, 2025 Come and show us. Quote Image 49: Square profile picture BNB Chain @BNBCHAIN · Apr 23, 2025 [...] CZ 🔶 BNB (@cz_binance) / X Don’t miss what’s happening People on X are the first to know. Log in Sign up Show more 15K 10K 57K 12M Image 11 CZ Image 12: 🔶 BNB @cz_binance · Jan 14, 2023 Oops, #bitcoin is still here. Image 13: 😄 2.2K 3K 301K 5.1M Image 14 CZ Image 15: 🔶 BNB @cz_binance · Aug 2, 2022 We need less divide in the world. More building. 1.8K 1.5K 109K Free basic (grade 1-12 ish) education, for all. No revenue. Gamified. Adaptive. Read the Concept Paper at We are HIRING. Small team, work directly with CZ. Image 34