In a small, less than 10-square-meter room in Singapore, Changpeng Zhao—better known as CZ—has spent much of the past year leading one of the world’s most influential cryptocurrency organizations. From this unassuming space, the 44-year-old Canadian-Chinese entrepreneur remotely oversees Binance, a company valued in the tens of billions, with nearly 3,000 team members spread across more than 60 countries.
Unlike many in the crypto space who wear their ideology on their sleeves, CZ stands out for his pragmatism. He is neither a fervent libertarian nor a dogmatic decentralization purist. Instead, he operates in the middle—balancing innovation with compliance, decentralization with usability, and vision with execution.
This balanced approach defines not only CZ personally but also the company he built. Binance is neither fully centralized nor fully decentralized. It has no physical headquarters, yet it maintains clear leadership and structure. It embraces global regulatory engagement while pushing the boundaries of financial innovation. And CZ himself? He’s not the loudest voice in the room—but his influence is undeniable.
👉 Discover how leaders like CZ are shaping the future of digital finance.
Bitcoin as a New Technological Platform
Bitcoin’s volatility has long been a talking point. In mid-2024, it swung from nearly $65,000 down to $30,000. Yet for CZ, such fluctuations are part of the natural market rhythm.
“Markets that go up sharply often correct sharply. People around me aren’t particularly concerned,” he says.
His bullish outlook isn’t based on price predictions but on adoption metrics. With only about 1% to 2% of the global population owning digital assets, CZ sees vast room for growth—potentially 50x to 100x expansion.
While macroeconomic factors like U.S. monetary expansion have fueled recent rallies, CZ also points to internal innovations: DeFi (decentralized finance) in 2023, NFTs (non-fungible tokens) in 2024, and Bitcoin’s 2023 halving event, which reduced new supply by half.
But what truly sets CZ apart is how he frames Bitcoin’s value.
“Bitcoin isn’t just an asset—it’s a new technological platform,” he explains.
He draws a parallel to the early internet: initially seen as just another communication channel, it eventually became the foundation for entirely new industries. Similarly, blockchain isn’t just about money—it’s about reimagining financial infrastructure, digital ownership, and global access.
And while critics argue there’s still no “killer app” for blockchain, CZ disagrees.
“ICO was a killer app,” he says, referring to Initial Coin Offerings that enabled global fundraising for startups—a tool previously unavailable to retail investors. “And now NFTs let creators monetize their work directly.”
These are innovations traditional finance couldn’t support.
A Pragmatic Path Into Crypto
CZ’s journey into crypto began in 2013 after reading the Bitcoin whitepaper. Skeptical but intrigued, he attended a conference in Las Vegas where he met early pioneers like Vitalik Buterin.
What struck him wasn’t their technical brilliance—but their sincerity.
“One guy sent me some BTC to teach me how wallets work. When I offered to return it, he said: ‘Keep it. Use it to teach someone else.’ That moment told me this wasn’t about crime or scams—it was about a community building something real.”
That airport moment led to a life-changing decision: sell his Shanghai apartment, quit his job, and dive into crypto full-time.
Yes, the market crashed soon after. While Shanghai real estate doubled, his Bitcoin holdings dropped to a third. But he held on—not out of blind faith, but because the underlying logic still made sense.
“Amazon and Google dropped 98% after the dot-com bubble. Surviving that doesn’t mean you were wrong—it means you believed in the future.”
His path wasn’t linear. Between 2015 and 2017, he stepped away to build a trading system for collectibles (stamps, coins, phone cards). Only when he sensed another crypto wave approaching did he return—this time to launch Binance.
Why not go fully decentralized? After all, blockchain’s promise is trustless systems.
“I followed what I knew,” CZ says plainly. His expertise was in trading systems—not cryptography or consensus algorithms. “Doing something valuable matters more than doing something ideologically pure.”
Yet today, he acknowledges the rise of decentralized exchanges (DEXs).
“In five to ten years, DEXs may overtake centralized ones,” he admits. But for now, usability remains a barrier. Most newcomers still need intuitive interfaces and fast support—something centralized platforms provide better.
👉 See how emerging platforms are bridging the gap between tradition and innovation.
Building Binance: Stability Over Speed
Binance has ranked as the world’s largest crypto exchange by trading volume since its early days. But scale brings pressure—especially during market surges when systems can slow or halt withdrawals.
Critics sometimes accuse exchanges of manipulating access. CZ dismisses that.
“Our fee income is massive. Why risk long-term trust for short-term gain?”
The real challenge? Architecture.
“We’re not serving hundreds of brokers—we’re serving millions directly. This is the largest financial matching market in human history.”
Unlike traditional stock exchanges that aggregate orders through intermediaries, Binance connects users globally in real time. Scaling isn’t about adding servers—it’s about rethinking architecture entirely.
The 2018 bear market turned out to be a blessing.
“If prices had kept rising in 2018, we’d have collapsed under the load,” CZ admits. Instead, that downturn gave Binance time to strengthen its backend systems—preparing for exponential user growth that later came.
User numbers exploded far beyond expectations—not just 5x or 10x, but 20x compared to previous cycles.
And institutions? They’re arriving fast.
“Institutional usage is growing exponentially,” CZ notes. Though U.S. firms dominate globally, Chinese wealth holders still largely trade personally—often managing millions through single accounts.
To serve pros, Binance added tools like sub-accounts with tiered permissions—features once rare in crypto but now essential.
Protecting Users—and Their Trust
With great power comes great responsibility—especially when holding billions in user assets.
After incidents like OKEx’s CEO being detained—which triggered mass withdrawals—security became paramount.
Binance uses multi-signature wallets requiring 7 out of 15 signers to approve withdrawals. Crucially:
- No single person controls access.
- Signers don’t know each other.
- CZ himself isn’t on the list.
- The process is automated—minimizing human coordination risk.
Even so, could insiders collude?
“They’d need to recruit eight others—without getting caught,” CZ says. High compensation reduces incentive; geographic distribution prevents single-point failures; and software allows seamless rotation of signers.
This system isn’t perfect—but it’s robust enough to deter attacks while ensuring continuity.
And what about users harming themselves?
Binance runs a Responsible Trading Program—unique in the industry.
- Newcomers to futures are asked: What’s your chance of losing money? If they say less than 50%, they’re blocked—they don’t understand risk.
- If they blame others for losses? Also blocked.
- After significant losses, users are frozen for 48 hours.
“We lose some fees,” CZ admits. “But we keep long-term users alive. They learn. They come back stronger.”
It’s not charity—it’s sustainable growth.
BSC vs Ethereum: Not Competition, But Complement
Binance Smart Chain (BSC) launched in 2023 and quickly gained traction—now processing more daily transactions than Ethereum.
Some call it a clone. CZ responds:
“You can say I copied Mercedes—but my car goes ten times faster. Isn’t that innovation?”
BSC achieves speed and low fees through fewer nodes (21 vs Ethereum’s thousands) and optimized infrastructure. But it started as a community initiative—not a top-down project.
Developers approached Binance with a proposal: build an EVM-compatible chain using BNB as its native token. Binance supported it financially—but didn’t control development.
Is this centralization?
“Yes, we hold a lot of BNB—but we earned it through fees,” CZ argues. “And we’ve committed to burning our reserved portion.”
Moreover, BSC’s success depends on decentralization. A truly decentralized network attracts more developers and users—raising BNB’s value.
And unlike Ethereum—which serves high-value transactions—BSC targets underserved populations in Southeast Asia, India, and Africa.
“Paying $100 in gas fees isn’t feasible for small traders,” CZ notes. “We offer accessibility.”
Ethereum hasn’t lost volume—but its growth stalled due to scalability limits (~15–20 TPS). BSC hasn’t hit its ceiling yet.
“We’re not competing—we’re serving those they can’t.”
And CZ hopes Vitalik Buterin succeeds in solving Ethereum’s challenges.
“If he does, the whole industry grows.”
Regulation: Gray Zones Over Black-and-White Rules
Regulatory attitudes vary worldwide—but CZ sees progress.
“Two years ago, officials asked if crypto was used by terrorists,” he recalls. “Now they ask how to prevent crime—because they realize blockchain is transparent and traceable.”
Compliance isn’t the enemy of freedom—it enables legitimacy.
“I’m not an anarchist,” CZ states clearly. “We need rules. We need police.”
But waiting for perfect regulation would stall innovation.
“Rules emerge from practice,” he argues. “Regulators need real cases to learn from.”
Smaller nations were early adopters—not because they’re more progressive, but because they’re agile. Places like Bermuda can assess cases individually.
Now, major economies are catching up.
“If China wants the digital yuan to go global, embracing blockchain innovation helps,” he observes.
Are central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) real blockchain applications?
“They’re semi-centralized,” CZ says. “They use blockchain tech but control issuance and transactions.”
But does it matter?
“Decentralization is a spectrum—not binary,” he insists. The key questions are: Is it secure? Usable? Accessible?
If yes—it gains adoption.
Leadership Without Ego: The Role of a Connector
Binance has no office. No formal hierarchy obsession. No mandatory titles.
Internally, it’s called an "organization"—not a company—and contributors are "team members."
Yet it uses both OKRs and KPIs—tools often associated with traditional tech firms.
“Having goals doesn’t make you centralized,” CZ clarifies.
His role has evolved from coder to catalyst.
“I don’t do tasks anymore—I connect people,” he says. His job now? Attract talent, align vision, and maintain morale.
He spends hours on calls—not issuing orders, but listening and inspiring.
On Twitter (now X), he’s active—not for fame, but for feedback and outreach.
“I don’t enjoy being visible,” he admits. “But if poking Ethereum helps BSC gain attention when we’re smaller—that’s useful.”
He even provokes debates deliberately—knowing controversy drives visibility.
But beneath the strategy lies calmness.
“I’ve never yelled at anyone—even during the hack,” he says quietly.
His temperament was shaped early—in multicultural Canada, where as a volleyball team captain, he learned to lead not by dominance but by coordination.
“I wasn’t the spiker,” he says. “I was the setter—the one who made others shine.”
That mindset defines his leadership: enable others, stay balanced, move forward.
👉 Explore leadership models driving innovation in decentralized ecosystems.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What percentage of CZ’s wealth is in cryptocurrency?
A: Approximately 99%, primarily in BNB with a smaller portion in Bitcoin.
Q: Does Binance have a physical headquarters?
A: No. Binance operates as a distributed organization with no central office—team members work remotely from over 60 countries.
Q: How does Binance handle regulatory compliance across different countries?
A: Binance engages proactively with regulators worldwide and complies with local laws through region-specific legal entities and licensing efforts.
Q: Is Binance Smart Chain (BSC) truly decentralized?
A: While initially backed by Binance, BSC is designed to become increasingly decentralized over time through community-driven governance and node distribution.
Q: Why did CZ leave crypto between 2015 and 2017?
A: He paused during a market downturn to build a trading platform for collectibles (postage stamps, coins), returning when he saw renewed momentum in blockchain innovation.
Q: How does Binance protect user funds during extreme market volatility?
A: Through its Secure Asset Fund for Users (SAFU), which holds 10% of all trading fees to cover potential losses from hacks or system failures.