At 12 years old, he worked at a gas station; by 44, he became the richest Chinese person; at 47, he became the 'richest prisoner in history' — Zhao Changpeng's life is like a performance art piece in the crypto industry.
I still remember the first time I saw Zhao Changpeng (known as CZ among insiders) in a speech video. This man, dressed in a black T-shirt and with a slender build, calmly shared his vision for decentralized finance in front of thousands of people. There were no dazzling slides, no impassioned tones, yet it left the entire crypto community breathless.
Four years later, when he walked out of a California prison, the cryptocurrency world had changed dramatically. 'The boundary between innovation and compliance is the ultimate question every crypto entrepreneur must face.' This is my deepest reflection after tracking Zhao Changpeng's legend for eight years.
01 Starting Point, Fluid Identity and Stubborn Technological Belief
In 1977, Zhao Changpeng was born into a family of teachers in Lianyungang, Jiangsu. At the age of 12, he immigrated to Canada with his family, and this early experience shaped his unique 'fluid identity'—neither purely Chinese nor typically Canadian.
In his youth, Zhao Changpeng worked at McDonald's for an hourly wage of 4.5 Canadian dollars (about 24 RMB) and also worked night shifts at a gas station. This grassroots experience made him unusually sensitive to the flow of money.
He studied computer science at McGill University, and this educational experience laid the technical foundation for him to build Binance's trading system later. After graduating, he worked successively at the Tokyo Stock Exchange and Bloomberg, responsible for developing trading systems. He understands the game rules of the traditional financial world better than anyone.
In 2013, Zhao Changpeng was introduced to Bitcoin during a card game. He later recalled, 'When I read the Bitcoin white paper, it felt like I was seeing the future of finance.' This idea of decentralized, borderless currency instantly struck him.
02 Crazy Bet, Selling House All in and the Birth of Binance
In 2014, Zhao Changpeng made a jaw-dropping decision: he sold his house in Shanghai and invested the entire $1 million he cashed out into Bitcoin. At the time, Bitcoin was experiencing a crash, and friends called him 'crazy,' while family members angrily labeled him 'a big fool.'
It turned out that this gamble made him successful. Bitcoin subsequently experienced a surge, and this investment accumulated the original capital for him to establish Binance.
In July 2017, Zhao Changpeng founded Binance in Hong Kong. He created a business model of 'trading as faith': relying on high-frequency trading system experience, Binance's order processing speed is 5 times faster than competitors; launching the BNB token to build an internal circulation economy; adopting a 'no headquarters' global distributed office model.
The scales of fate quickly tipped in his favor. On September 4, 2017, China issued a regulatory ban on cryptocurrencies, and Binance realized 'regulatory arbitrage' by establishing overseas markets in advance. This thrilling escape led to a 600% surge in users within 3 months, with daily trading volume exceeding $76 billion, briefly surpassing NASDAQ.
03 Rise of the Empire, Gray Strategies and Global Expansion
The speed of Binance's rise is astonishing: within just over 6 months of its establishment, it achieved a profit of $200 million, surpassing Deutsche Bank. By 2021, Binance controlled 52% of the global cryptocurrency spot trading volume, with over $30 billion in assets locked on the BNB Chain, comparable to a mid-sized national central bank.
Zhao Changpeng's business model operates in the gray area of regulation: attracting global users without strict KYC mechanisms; evading local regulation through decentralized servers; adopting a 'nomadic office' strategy to cope with policy changes in various countries. This strategy accelerated expansion while also sowing the seeds for subsequent regulatory crises.
At the end of 2022, Zhao Changpeng reached the pinnacle of his business career. He triggered a bank run against competitor FTX through a single tweet, causing the giant to go bankrupt within days. Binance became the undisputed leader in the industry, and Zhao Changpeng's personal wealth peaked at $94.1 billion, placing him among the top ten richest people in the world.
04 Regulatory Iron Fist, $4.3 Billion Settlement and 4 Months of Imprisonment
Behind the glory, a crisis had long been lurking. The U.S. Department of Justice's investigation into Binance revealed the 'original sin' behind its rapid growth: the platform was suspected of assisting terrorist organizations in transferring funds; intentionally not implementing KYC mechanisms to attract U.S. users; inflating trading volumes and mixing user funds.
In November 2023, at a federal court in Seattle, Zhao Changpeng admitted to violating the Bank Secrecy Act in front of 200 reporters. Binance agreed to pay a $4.3 billion fine, Zhao Changpeng personally paid a $50 million fine, and he resigned from his position as CEO.
In April 2024, Zhao Changpeng began serving a 4-month prison sentence in California. The Chinese tycoon, who once had a net worth of $94.1 billion, appeared gaunt when he walked out of prison in 2024 and remained silent when faced with reporters' questions.
05 Pardon and Future, A Watershed Moment for the Crypto Industry
In October 2025, a dramatic turn of events occurred—U.S. President Trump pardoned Zhao Changpeng. Behind this decision was a fundamental shift in the U.S. regulatory attitude toward cryptocurrencies.
Although Zhao Changpeng is no longer managing the daily operations of Binance, he manages over $10 billion in assets through his family office YZi Labs, focusing on investments in cryptocurrency, artificial intelligence, and biotechnology. He also founded the non-profit educational platform Giggle Academy, aimed at popularizing blockchain knowledge.
My Observations and Thoughts
Zhao Changpeng's story reveals a core conflict: the ideal of decentralized technology versus the fundamental contradiction of a centralized regulatory system in the real world. Binance rose rapidly due to its technological advantages, but its lack of compliance in anti-money laundering and KYC ultimately led to heavy costs.
From an industry perspective, Zhao Changpeng's rise and fall represent a watershed moment as the crypto world transitions from wild growth to normalization. The future has arrived, and the rules have changed. In the crypto world, true wisdom lies in understanding: freedom stems from adherence to rules, not from disregard for them.
When technological idealism meets real-world politics, Zhao Changpeng's life experiences offer a lesson worth pondering for every entrepreneur. Follow Ake to learn more firsthand news and accurate insights into the crypto world, as learning is your greatest wealth!#加密市场反弹 #加密市场观察 $ETH
