Changpeng Zhao (CZ)

Changpeng Zhao, universally known by his initials CZ, is a Chinese Canadian entrepreneur who founded Binance in 2017 and built it into the world's largest centralized exchange by trading volume. Before Binance, he worked on trading system infrastructure at Bloomberg Tradebook and later ran his own exchange technology firm, experience he leaned on to launch Binance during an ICO boom, funding its early growth partly through the BNB token sale.

CZ served as Binance's CEO for six years, steering it through explosive growth, regulatory clashes across multiple countries, and constant scrutiny of its compliance practices. In November 2023, he stepped down and pleaded guilty to violating the U.S. Bank Secrecy Act for failing to maintain adequate anti-money-laundering controls, part of a $4.3 billion settlement between Binance and the Department of Justice. He was sentenced to four months in prison in 2024, completed the term, and received a full pardon from President Trump in October 2025.

Despite no longer running day-to-day operations, CZ remains Binance's largest shareholder and an influential voice in the industry. He has since focused on YZi Labs, an investment vehicle spun out of Binance Labs, alongside Giggle Academy, a free education initiative, and informal advisory work with governments exploring crypto and stablecoin frameworks. Because Binance dominates trading volume and listings, traders frequently invoke "CZ" as shorthand for the exchange itself, especially when requesting new listings or discussing its KYC and compliance policies.