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CZ's Untold Story: The Rise, Fall, and Redemption of Binance's Founder

February 10, 2026

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  • CZ's early life involved immigrating from China to Canada at age 12, working minimum wage jobs like McDonald's, and pursuing computer science at McGill, highlighting a 'normal immigrant kid' background before his crypto success. 
  • CZ's career path was characterized by iterative pivots, moving from high-frequency trading software development in Tokyo and New York (including a role at Bloomberg) to a successful B2B exchange software licensing business in Shanghai before entering crypto. 
  • The founding of Binance was catalyzed by a pivot from a B2B exchange software licensing model, which was disrupted by Chinese regulatory actions in 2017, leading the team to leverage their existing technology to launch a crypto-to-crypto exchange via a successful Initial Coin Offering (ICO). 
  • CZ attributes his stable demeanor and lack of excessive excitement over wealth to being older (in his 40s) when Binance achieved massive success, leading him to prioritize function over luxury. 
  • The first significant interaction with U.S. law enforcement occurred on New Year's Day 2018, following the Ether Delta hack, signaling the inevitable regulatory challenges ahead for Binance. 
  • CZ sold his 20% equity stake in FTX in July 2021, well before its collapse, partly due to observing Sam Bankman-Fried's competitive and allegedly hostile behavior toward Binance in Washington circles. 
  • CZ's current focus for his Giggle project is on creating a genuine, deficit-financed free education platform, intentionally avoiding a token structure to keep the focus on education. 
  • The future of commerce will likely involve millions of AI agents transacting frequently, necessitating payment systems like cryptocurrency that can handle high volume and speed beyond the capabilities of traditional banking infrastructure. 
  • Fungibility and privacy are critical shortcomings of Bitcoin and most current cryptocurrencies that will hinder their ubiquitous adoption, as privacy is essential for real-world security and personal autonomy. 

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CZ’s Early Life in Canada
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(00:00:00)
  • Key Takeaway: CZ’s family emigrated from China to Canada starting in 1984, with his father, a professor, moving first for an exchange program.
  • Summary: CZ’s father moved to Canada in 1984, five years before Tiananmen Square, initially for an exchange program at the University of Toronto before moving to UBC. Obtaining Chinese passports and Canadian visas was a lengthy, multi-year process during that era. CZ consciously felt little impact from the 1989 events, though he acknowledges a potential subconscious influence from surrounding discussions on democracy.
Immigrant Family Financial Struggles
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(00:02:43)
  • Key Takeaway: Upon reuniting in Vancouver, CZ’s mother, a former teacher in China, worked minimum wage sewing factory jobs due to limited English proficiency.
  • Summary: CZ’s father received a low stipend as an assistant professor, living in faculty housing. CZ started working at McDonald’s at age 14, earning below the minimum wage of $6.00 in British Columbia at the time, which was $4.50 due to a McDonald’s exemption.
Education and Early Career Path
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(00:05:08)
  • Key Takeaway: CZ was a technically capable student interested in programming but not a ‘programming wizard,’ later shifting from coding to business development around age 28-30.
  • Summary: CZ initially studied biology at McGill based on advice to become a doctor but switched to computer science after one semester. He worked every summer and part-time during school to graduate without student debt, unlike many US counterparts. He did not graduate from McGill, leaving after a fourth-year internship, later obtaining a degree from an online program to secure work visas in Japan.
First Tech Jobs in Asia and NYC
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(00:09:41)
  • Key Takeaway: CZ’s early professional experience involved writing low-latency order execution software for a successful Japanese FinTech company that sold for $52 million before 2000.
  • Summary: His first major internship was in Tokyo, writing order execution software, a skill set he later applied to crypto. After a subsequent startup failed, he moved to New York in late 2001 to work at Bloomberg for four years, where he was promoted three times, eventually managing a team of 80 people.
First Shanghai Startup Venture
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(00:17:44)
  • Key Takeaway: In 2005, CZ co-founded an IT startup in Shanghai with foreign partners, aiming to bring Wall Street trading tech to China, but pivoted to general IT services after discovering regulatory barriers prevented working with Chinese financial institutions.
  • Summary: CZ joined five foreigners to start a company, initially believing they would service brokers, but they registered as a Wholly Foreign-Owned Enterprise (WoFI), which Chinese institutions could not legally work with. The company successfully pivoted to general IT services for clients like Shanghai General Motors, eventually growing to about 200 employees before CZ left in 2013.
Discovering and Committing to Bitcoin
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(00:23:04)
  • Key Takeaway: CZ was ‘red-pilled’ on Bitcoin after writing a 2012 Bloomberg op-ed suggesting a 1% net worth allocation as ‘schmuck insurance,’ and fully committed after friends urged him to invest heavily in late 2013.
  • Summary: A friend introduced him to Bitcoin, and an op-ed he wrote for Bloomberg solidified his interest in its elegant technical product. He was further convinced by Bobby Lee (BTC China CEO) to put 10% of his net worth into Bitcoin. CZ sold his Shanghai apartment for nearly $900,000 in 2014 and systematically bought Bitcoin, averaging down to about $600 per coin.
Early Crypto Roles and Lessons
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(00:32:26)
  • Key Takeaway: CZ joined Blockchain Info as VP of Engineering, learning the value of remote work and grassroots marketing via a single forum thread, before leaving due to a culture shift after new leadership arrived.
  • Summary: After a brief stint at Blockchain Info, CZ joined OKCoin as CTO, accepting 10% equity over OKX’s 5% offer, but left after eight months due to disagreements over business practices like misleading fee discounts. He learned that grassroots marketing (like Blockchain Info’s single BitcoinTalk thread) could drive massive user growth.
The Genesis of Binance
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(00:37:01)
  • Key Takeaway: Binance originated from a pivot by CZ and former colleagues who initially planned to sell exchange software in Japan but decided to launch their own crypto-to-crypto exchange after seeing the success of an ICO.
  • Summary: After leaving OKCoin in 2015, CZ started a successful exchange software licensing business, which collapsed when Chinese regulators shut down their clients in March 2017. Inspired by a successful $15 million ICO by Link Zhao, CZ decided to launch Binance via its own ICO in June 2017, leveraging his reputation and technical knowledge.
Binance Early Competition Landscape
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(00:50:16)
  • Key Takeaway: In 2017, Binance’s primary competitors were Poloniex, BitTrex, and Chinese exchanges like Huobi and OKX.
  • Summary: Binance’s exchange system performance was noted as being very fast compared to competitors like Poloniex and BitTrex in 2017. Other major players at the time included Chinese exchanges such as Huobi and OKCoin, alongside Coinbase in the Western world. Gemini and Bitstamp were also present, though Bitfinex is noted as being much smaller later on.
Internalizing Early Binance Success
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(00:50:42)
  • Key Takeaway: CZ experienced surreal moments of success, initially doubting revenue figures reported in Bitcoin, such as earning a couple hundred Bitcoins in revenue.
  • Summary: CZ, in his 40s during this rapid growth, struggled to internalize the success, questioning reported revenues like a couple hundred Bitcoins. The rapid appreciation of BNB tokens (from 6 cents to significant gains) following the announcement of Hui joining created surreal, constant upward momentum. The realization of being rich came later, around early 2018, coinciding with his Forbes cover feature.
CZ’s Perspective on Wealth
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(00:52:50)
  • Key Takeaway: Due to his age and stable personality, CZ did not develop typical habits associated with sudden wealth, viewing money primarily as a means for basic needs and comfort.
  • Summary: CZ was older when he became wealthy, avoiding the typical ‘Lambo’ phase of younger entrepreneurs. He remains function-driven, exemplified by living in an old house that leaks but is in the right location and serves its purpose. Money is viewed as necessary for basic needs (food, shelter), but not as the ultimate driver, as his lifestyle didn’t drastically change upon becoming a potential billionaire.
Binance’s Leading Indicator Focus
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(00:57:47)
  • Key Takeaway: CZ’s primary North Star metric for Binance’s health was Daily Active Users (DAU), prioritizing product value derived from usage over lagging indicators like revenue or profit.
  • Summary: CZ was addicted to the work itself, which provided a hard-to-describe sense of fulfillment beyond money or growth. He focused on DAU as the leading indicator because a product is valuable when people use it, even if revenue is zero. Optimizing for short-term revenue or profit risks losing long-term growth derived from a large user base.
First Contact with US Law Enforcement
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(00:59:20)
  • Key Takeaway: The first formal contact from U.S. law enforcement was on New Year’s Day 2018 from a U.S. Homeland Security agent seeking help tracking hackers from the Ether Delta hack.
  • Summary: This initial contact prompted CZ to realize the necessity of hiring personnel experienced in interfacing with law enforcement, though hiring U.S.-based staff was impossible then due to Binance lacking a U.S. entity. The Biden administration’s hostility toward crypto is attributed to fear of disruption to the existing financial system and lobbying pressure from established industries.
Establishing Binance.US Entity
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(01:02:41)
  • Key Takeaway: Binance registered a separate U.S. entity in 2019 after observing regulatory actions against competitors like BitMax and Bitfinex, signaling the U.S. government’s increased scrutiny of the industry.
  • Summary: The decision to register Binance.US was a direct response to seeing the U.S. government freeze assets of other exchanges. Binance.US was established as a fully separate entity with its own matching engine and equity, regulated from day one. This move was based on the general consensus from legal advisors that registration was necessary.
Investment and Exit from FTX
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(01:03:57)
  • Key Takeaway: Binance invested 20% equity in FTX (via an FTT token swap) in late 2019 but exited the investment by July 2021, long before the collapse.
  • Summary: CZ first met Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) in January 2019 when SBF was running Alameda; FTX was launched later that year. Binance declined initial JV proposals for a futures platform, eventually accepting an offer involving an FTT token swap for 20% equity. CZ began hearing reports of SBF badmouthing Binance in Washington circles and poaching staff, leading to the decision to exit the investment.
Navigating DOJ Hostility and Negotiations
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(01:09:42)
  • Key Takeaway: The most troublesome aspect of dealing with the DOJ was managing conflicting advice from numerous expensive lawyers during protracted negotiations that included periods of intense uncertainty regarding potential indictment.
  • Summary: The DOJ’s approach was described by lawyers as unprecedentedly hostile, leading to negotiations that lasted over a year with daily calls involving many legal experts. CZ experienced periods of ‘purgatory’ when negotiations stalled, facing the risk of indictment or being forced to remain in the UAE indefinitely if he fought the charges. The DOJ’s request for 36 months, double the guideline maximum, was a major setback before the final plea.
Plea Details and Sentencing
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(01:16:00)
  • Key Takeaway: CZ pleaded guilty to a single charge of violating the Bank Secrecy Act (failure to register), while the DOJ’s more severe allegations (facilitating bad transactions) were rejected by the court.
  • Summary: The agreed-upon charge was a technical failure to register as a financial services company to service U.S. users, distinct from intentionally facilitating illicit activity. The judge rejected the two additional ’enhancement’ charges (Layers 3 and 4) that alleged CZ personally facilitated wrongdoing. CZ was sentenced to four months, a figure the judge landed on after the government requested 36 months and CZ’s lawyers argued for probation.
Federal Prison Experience
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(01:25:25)
  • Key Takeaway: CZ was placed in a low-security federal prison, typically reserved for drug offenses, because he was not a U.S. citizen, and the system organized inmates strictly by ethnicity to reduce conflict.
  • Summary: Prison consultants warned CZ about being a high target for extortion due to media coverage, advising him to stay quiet and avoid new friendships. The prison system grouped inmates by ethnicity (e.g., Chinese, Native American/Pacific Islander), which surprisingly reduced conflict by channeling disputes through group representatives. The first luxury upon release was the ability to shower without touching the walls and access to fresh fruit.
Post-Sentence Life and Giggle Academy
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(01:40:06)
  • Key Takeaway: CZ is now focused on philanthropic and investment activities outside of Binance, including Giggle Academy, which aims to provide free, fully digitized education to the 1.2 billion uneducated people globally.
  • Summary: CZ is happy not running Binance, having more free time, and is involved in consulting governments on crypto policy and investing in blockchain, AI, and biotech via Easy Labs. Giggle Academy is designed as a free, app-based platform using gamification to deliver education, deliberately avoiding a token to prevent speculation from overshadowing the educational mission. He plans to self-fund the project until it achieves fully digitized delivery.
Giggle Education Platform Funding
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(01:43:41)
  • Key Takeaway: CZ plans to self-fund the Giggle education platform indefinitely to ensure its goal of fully digitized, gamified delivery is met, prioritizing impact over tokenization.
  • Summary: The goal for Giggle is to be a real free education platform, not a token platform, as a token would distract users. CZ intends to deficit finance the project for as long as necessary to achieve fully digitized education delivery. A community donation of $12 million based on a meme coin was received, though CZ has only spent $3-4 million so far, highlighting the difficulty of giving money away with positive impact.
AI Agents and Crypto Payments
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(01:44:37)
  • Key Takeaway: AI embeddings represent a machine-readable language ideal for agents, suggesting that these agents will soon become the largest users of crypto for high-frequency, background financial transactions.
  • Summary: The layer below English in AI reveals a machine-readable language of embeddings, which is perfect for agents to traverse and query, leading to massive productivity leaps. Agents will require payments for their transactions, potentially making them the largest future users of crypto because traditional banks cannot support the necessary volume and rate of transactions due to KYC/AML limitations. The current user interface for trading, requiring manual clicks, is outdated compared to the seamless, automated transactions agents will perform.
Crypto Privacy and Fungibility Issues
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(01:47:31)
  • Key Takeaway: Lack of fungibility and insufficient privacy features are significant obstacles preventing Bitcoin and most cryptocurrencies from achieving ubiquitous adoption at scale.
  • Summary: CZ is not a Bitcoin maximalist primarily due to the lack of fungibility and privacy, which he views as problematic for mega-scale use. While Bitcoin is pseudo-anonymous, every transaction is traceable, especially when linked to KYC centralized exchanges. Real-world use cases, such as revealing physical location by booking a hotel via a public address, demonstrate the necessity of strong privacy features that most current cryptocurrencies lack.
CZ’s Book and Personal Narrative
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(01:50:05)
  • Key Takeaway: The book, drafted in prison to maintain mental engagement, aims to correct negative media misconceptions about CZ, Binance, and his personal journey.
  • Summary: The book project started as a way for CZ to keep busy while incarcerated, drafting content on a basic terminal. Its primary purpose now is to articulate his story and counter the widespread negative media narratives surrounding him and the crypto industry. He considers it important for his children to read to understand the full context of his experiences.
Parenting Philosophy and Success Myths
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(01:52:08)
  • Key Takeaway: CZ’s parenting goal is to support his children in defining and achieving their own healthy and happy lives, mirroring his parents’ simple, non-pressuring guidance.
  • Summary: CZ wants his children to live healthy, happy lives defined by themselves, whether that involves startups, art, or humanitarian work, and he intends to support them in any path they choose. His parents provided simple guidance: don’t hurt yourself and don’t hurt others, which was notably uncharacteristic of typical high-pressure Chinese parenting expectations. Success should not be glorified as an impregnable, quixotic achievement; rather, it often results from consistent, sustainable effort (110-130% push) combined with luck.
Beyond Billionaire Status: Life Metrics
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(01:55:14)
  • Key Takeaway: Money is only one dimension of life’s ‘spider web graph’; health, time control, family well-being, and mental stability are more crucial for sustained happiness once basic financial needs are met.
  • Summary: Once sufficient money is acquired, having more does not increase happiness; other factors like health and family become paramount. Time—the ability to use it as desired and spend it with loved ones—is a critical diameter of well-being. CZ expresses gratitude for stepping away from running Binance, as it allowed him to improve on other quotients where he was previously lacking, despite the enjoyment of the work itself.