Changpeng Zhao

Binance

After its launch in July 2017, the Binance cryptocurrency exchange was able to raise $15 million in an initial coin offering, and trading began on the exchange eleven days later.[17] In less than eight months, Zhao grew Binance into the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume (as of April 2018).[18][17] Zhao also launched Binance Coin in 2017, a utility token that gives its owners various benefits, such as discounts on trading fees.[19] In April 2019, Binance launched Binance Smart Chain, which has smart contract functionality and is an Ethereum competitor.

In February 2018, Forbes placed him third on their list of "The Richest People In Cryptocurrency," with an estimated net worth of $1.1-2 billion.[18][20]

In 2019, Zhao launched Binance's U.S. affiliate, Binance.US.[21] Binance withdrew its application to run a Singapore-based crypto exchange in 2021.[22]

Civil lawsuits

On March 27, 2023, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) filed a lawsuit against Binance and Zhao in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, claiming willful evasion of US law and allegedly breaching derivatives rules.[23][24] The agency accused Binance of breaking rules intended to thwart money laundering operations,[25] pointing to internal communications describing transactions by Palestinian militant organization Hamas and suspected criminals.[23]

In June 2023, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sued Zhao and Binance on 13 charges for alleged violations of US securities rules.[26][27][28]

In November 2024, FTX filed a lawsuit against Binance Holdings Ltd., Zhao, and other Binance executives, seeking to recover nearly $1.8 billion that FTX alleges was fraudulently transferred. The case centers on a July 2021 stock repurchase transaction in which Binance sold its stakes—approximately 20% of FTX's international unit and 18.4% of its U.S.-based entity—to FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried.[29]

Criminal allegations and sanctions

In November 2023, Zhao agreed to resign from Binance and pay a $50 million fine as part of a guilty plea to U.S. federal charges. Binance also agreed to plead guilty, and to pay $4.3 billion in fines.[30][31] Zhao was replaced as CEO by Richard Teng.[32]

Zhao pled guilty to violating the American Bank Secrecy Act by prioritizing Binance's growth over compliance with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network's anti-money laundering requirements.[33] Although Zhao only personally pled guilty to a single criminal charge, as part of plea bargain negotiations, Zhao agreed for Binance to also admit to operating an unlicensed money transmitting business and to violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.[30] Zhao's defense attorneys noted that BitMEX founder Arthur Hayes only received probation for a similar crime and argued that Zhao's ineligibility for minimum-security imprisonment put his safety at risk.[34][35]

In April 2024, Zhao was sentenced to four months in prison after pleading guilty to charges of enabling money laundering at his crypto exchange at a federal court in Seattle.[36] He served his sentence at the Federal Correctional Institution, Lompoc I.[37] According to records with the United States Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP), Zhao was released from custody on September 27, 2024.[38]

Pardon by President Donald Trump

In March 2025, The Wall Street Journal uncovered that Binance was in talks with the family of Donald Trump about business dealings.[39] In August 2025, The Wall Street Journal found that Binance was quietly administering a trading platform for the Trump family's World Liberty Financial.[40] That same month, the New York Times reported that Zhao was campaigning to receive a pardon from President Trump.[41] Binance had spent $800,000 on lobbying for clemency and other U.S. policy issues.[42] In October 2025, a lobbyist hired by Zhao, Ches McDowell, met with Trump to talk about a pardon for Zhao after being introduced by Donald Trump Jr.[42] The pardon was granted by Trump later that month on October 23, 2025.[43] White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt gave the following explanation for the pardon:[44] "Mr. Zhao ... was prosecuted by the Biden Administration in their war on cryptocurrency .... In their desire to punish the cryptocurrency industry, the Biden administration pursued Mr. Zhao despite no allegations of fraud or identifiable victims. The Biden administration sought to imprison Mr. Zhao for three years, a sentence so outside sentencing guidelines that even the judge said he had never heard of this in his 30-year career. These actions by the Biden Administration severely damaged the United States' reputation as a global leader in technology and innovation." Zhao thanked Trump, saying "Deeply grateful for today's pardon and to President Trump for upholding America's commitment to fairness, innovation, and justice. 🙏🙏🙏🙏."[45] Binance also thanked Trump, describing the pardon as "incredible news."[45]

In an interview with 60 Minutes on October 31, 2025 (more than a week after he granted the pardon), Trump was asked about the pardon and stated that he had "no idea who [Zhao] is".[46] Then he added, "I know he got a four-month sentence or something like that. And I heard it was a Biden witch hunt".[47]

The pardon was criticized by Democrats, as well as some Republicans, who characterized it as brazen corruption.[42]

Zhao's lawyer, Teresa Goody Guillén, described criticisms of the pardon for Zhao as "an unlawful attempt to usurp the pardon power" of the U.S. president.[48]

Citizenship

Zhao is a citizen of Canada and the UAE.[58][59] In 2022, Zhao said that he had acquired Canadian citizenship some 30 years before, around 1992 shortly after immigrating to the country with his family.[60]

Political views

With regards to his political beliefs, Zhao stated in 2021 in Singapore, "I am not a complete libertarian, I'm not an anarchist... I don't believe human civilization is advanced enough to live in a world with no rules."[10]

"Freedom of Money"

On April 8, 2026, sales began for Changpeng Zhao's self-published memoir: Freedom of Money: A Memoir of Protecting Users, Resilience, and the Founding of Binance. The book, which Zhao primarily wrote during his 2024 incarceration, details his early life, the growth of Binance, and his perspectives on the 2023 legal settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice [61]. Zhao stated that all proceeds from the publication would be donated to his educational non-profit initiative, Giggle Academy.

Philanthropy

Zhao has said he plans to donate up to 99% of his wealth, following the philanthropic examples of other global business magnates and investors such as Bill Gates and Warren Buffett. "I intend to donate most of my wealth, as many other entrepreneurs or founders have done, from Peabody to today. I intend to donate 90%, 95%, or 99% of my wealth."[62]