Be Changpeng Zhao (CZ) - born in Jiangsu, China - raised in Vancouver, Canada - founder of Binance 1980s–1990s: - born in 1977 into a modest academic family - father was a university professor in China - family emigrates to Canada in 1989 Early jobs: - works at McDonald’s flipping burgers at 14 - takes other service jobs to help the family University years: - studies computer science at McGill University Early career in finance tech: - moves to Tokyo - builds high-frequency trading systems for the Tokyo Stock Exchange - later works in Shanghai building trading infrastructure 2000s: - becomes known for writing extremely fast trading software 2013: - discovers Bitcoin - spends months studying the whitepaper and ecosystem - becomes convinced crypto is the future First big risk: - sells his apartment in Shanghai - puts almost everything into Bitcoin around $400–$600 Career inside early crypto: - works at Blockchain info as CTO - later joins OKCoin as CTO 2017: - launches Binance - raises about $15M through the BNB token ICO Growth is explosive: - Binance becomes the largest crypto exchange within months Binance expands into: - BNB Chain - Binance Labs - global crypto infrastructure 2023: - US Department of Justice charges Binance with AML violations - settlement reached for $4.3B CZ personally: - pays $50M fine - pleads guilty to Bank Secrecy Act violations - steps down as CEO 2024: - serves 4 months in a U.S. federal prison 2025: - receives a presidential pardon from Donald Trump CZ declines: - says he doesn’t plan to become Binance CEO again Instead he shifts focus. Education: - launches Giggle Academy - free online education platform By March 2026: - over 184,000 children using it Today: - no longer Binance CEO still one of the most influential figures in crypto