Early Life and Education
Changpeng Zhao, often referred to as CZ, was born in Lianyungang, Jiangsu, China, in 1977. His parents were both schoolteachers. Due to his father's designation as a "pro-bourgeois intellect," the family immigrated to Vancouver, Canada, in the late 1980s when CZ was 12 years old.
During his teenage years in Canada, Zhao contributed to his family's finances by working various service jobs, including positions at McDonald's and a gas station. He later attended McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, where he earned a degree in computer science.
Rise to Success
After graduating, Zhao began his career with an internship in Tokyo, developing software for the Tokyo Stock Exchange. He then worked at Bloomberg Tradebook, developing software for futures trading. In 2005, he founded Fusion Systems in Shanghai, a company providing IT solutions.
Zhao entered the cryptocurrency space around 2013. He worked at Blockchain.info and as CTO of OKCoin.
In 2017, Zhao co-founded Binance, which quickly became the largest cryptocurrency exchange globally by trading volume. Within months of its launch, Binance had millions of users.
Zhao's success led him to become one of the wealthiest people in the crypto industry, with a net worth of approximately 65.7 billion USD as of June 2025.
Key Business Strategies
A key business strategy of Binance was its low fees, which attracted a large user base. Binance also launched its own cryptocurrency, Binance Coin (BNB), to be used for trading and listing fees. Another innovation was the Binance Smart Chain, which provided smart contract functionality.
Despite legal challenges and regulatory scrutiny, Binance has become a dominant force in the crypto market. In November 2023, Zhao resigned as CEO after pleading guilty to violating the Bank Secrecy Act.
Philanthropy
Zhao has stated his intention to donate up to 99% of his wealth. In 2025, he donated 10 million USD in BNB to Vitalik Buterin's open-source biotech project.