Changpeng Zhao

Trading systems before cryptocurrency

Before Binance, Zhao worked on the software that supports financial trading. His career included Bloomberg Tradebook, where he led futures research and development, and Fusion Systems, which he established in Shanghai in 2005.

Trading infrastructure has a demanding practical purpose. Orders must be processed accurately, systems need to remain available under pressure, and users expect their balances and transactions to be recorded consistently. Those concerns became relevant again when Zhao moved into cryptocurrency.

He began working in the crypto industry in 2013, including roles at Blockchain.info and OKCoin. These businesses brought him closer to the wallets and exchanges through which people were beginning to use Bitcoin.

Building Binance with a wider team

Binance launched in July 2017. Zhao and fellow co-founder Yi He helped build a business around cryptocurrency trading, supported by engineering, operations and customer-service teams.

The exchange expanded rapidly. Its appeal depended on several things working together: access to markets, an interface users could navigate and infrastructure capable of handling trading activity. Running the platform also meant managing the responsibilities that come with holding customer assets and serving users across jurisdictions.

Zhao became the public face of that growth. His influence came from leading a company that many people used to access cryptocurrency, rather than from controlling the underlying networks whose assets appeared on the exchange.

That distinction matters. Binance is a business providing services around crypto. Bitcoin and other public blockchains operate through their own networks, rules and participants.

How BNB developed alongside the exchange

BNB launched in 2017 and initially served as a utility token within the Binance ecosystem, including trading-fee discounts. Its role subsequently expanded alongside the development of blockchain infrastructure.

The original Binance Chain launched in April 2019. Binance Smart Chain followed on September 1, 2020, adding a separate network designed to support smart contracts and applications compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine.

These are different milestones. Describing the smart-contract network as having launched in April 2019 confuses it with the earlier chain.

The BNB token, the BNB Chain ecosystem and Binance’s exchange business are related, but they are not interchangeable. Owning BNB does not represent ownership of shares in Binance, and a founder’s association with the ecosystem should not be treated as proof that he personally controls every part of it.

Leaving Binance and the U.S. criminal case

On November 21, 2023, Zhao pleaded guilty to a Bank Secrecy Act violation involving Binance’s failure to maintain an effective anti-money-laundering programme. He stepped down as Binance CEO that month, and Richard Teng succeeded him.

The offence should be described precisely. Zhao’s guilty plea concerned the required compliance programme; it should not be casually rewritten as a conviction for personally laundering customer money.

On April 30, 2024, he was sentenced to four months in prison. The federal sentence also included a $50 million fine. Binance’s corporate resolution was a separate matter and should not be confused with Zhao’s individual sentence.

President Donald Trump later granted Zhao a pardon. The Department of Justice lists the grant under October 21, 2025; the White House publicly announced it on October 23. Both the original case and the later pardon are part of his record.

Separately, on May 29, 2025, the SEC filed a joint stipulation to dismiss its civil enforcement action against Binance entities and Zhao with prejudice. That civil case was distinct from the criminal prosecution. Its dismissal should not be presented as a trial verdict overturning the criminal plea.

A different kind of product: Giggle Academy

Zhao founded Giggle Academy as a free online education initiative for children. Its approach uses technology and game-like learning experiences to make educational content engaging and accessible.

The project gives his work a different audience. Instead of building tools for traders, Giggle Academy is concerned with helping children learn. Its official materials describe it as a nonprofit initiative and state that its core offering will remain free.

That mission should be assessed through the learning product itself: what children can access, how clearly material is taught and whether they want to keep learning. The academy’s name should not be used to imply that a similarly named cryptocurrency is an official investment in the project.

Supporting founders through YZi Labs

Zhao also participates in investment activity and founder mentorship through YZi Labs, formerly Binance Labs. The organisation describes its investment focus as spanning Web3, artificial intelligence and biotechnology.

YZi Labs’ own announcement describes Zhao as working directly with founders through coaching and mentorship. It separately identifies its organisational leadership, so his involvement should not be converted into an unsupported executive title.

This work extends his involvement beyond operating an exchange. It places him alongside teams building their own businesses, where his experience can inform discussions about products, growth and execution.

Understanding his influence today

Zhao remains closely associated with Binance’s history, but his former executive role, public commentary and newer projects should be distinguished.

A statement from CZ is not automatically a Binance policy announcement. An investment connection is not a guarantee that a project will succeed. Giggle Academy’s educational work should likewise be understood on its own terms.

His career brings together the opportunities and responsibilities of building crypto infrastructure at scale. The exchange he helped establish, the compliance failures addressed in court and the projects he now supports all belong in that account.