Former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao has pleaded guilty to charges brought down by the US DOJ, CFTC, and SEC in a 4.3 billion dollars settlement case. (AFP)

Changpend Zhao: The Ex-Binance Boss Who Struck a $4.3 Billion Bargain!

Adarsh V.KNovember 23, 23 cryptocurrency

Binance cofounder Changpeng Zhao, in a groundbreaking move, has decided to resign as CEO of the company and has admitted guilt in relation to US anti-money laundering charges filed by the US Department of Justice. The resolution of this case involves an extraordinary payment of $4.3 billion, aiming to settle a lengthy investigation into the largest cryptocurrency in terms of trade volume. However, it is important to examine the background of Zhao, the mastermind behind this colossal empire that has now faced a downfall, and his agreement to personally pay a $50 million penalty to the US government. Let’s delve deeper into this matter.

Who is Changpeng Zhao?

Known to crypto enthusiasts as CZ, Zhao is a 44-year-old Canadian citizen who was born in China’s Jiangsu Province. He moved with his family to Vancouver, Canada at the age of 12 and eventually studied computer science at McGill University in Montreal.

Zhao began his career in finance, interning at the Tokyo Stock Exchange and landing his first full-time job at Bloomberg Tradebook as a software developer for futures trading. He later founded his own technology startup, Fusion Systems, an automated high-frequency trading platform.

It wasn’t until 2013 that Zhao started working with cryptocurrencies in projects like Blockchain.info and OKCoin. According to reports, he also invested his entire fortune in Bitcoin. He eventually founded Binance in 2017 as a cryptocurrency exchange during the initial buzz around it. He also launched the Binance coin, the platform’s original cryptocurrency.

With a user-friendly interface, low trading fees and support for multiple cryptocurrencies, Binance quickly rose in popularity among competing platforms and became the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange in terms of trading volume. In 2018, he ranked third on Forbes’ “The Richest People In Cryptocurrency” list with a net worth of $1-2 billion.

The following year, he established a business unit in the United States. In March 2023, Binance came under fire after the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) filed a lawsuit against Binance and Zhao, accusing them of violating money laundering laws and lacking regulations and legal mechanisms to prevent suspicious transactions.