‘The King is back’: Binance billionaire CZ plots life after prison

The founder of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange talks about his four-month incarceration, future plans, and more

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Zhao Changpeng, founder and former CEO of Binance. Photo: Reuters

Published: 12:00pm, 8 Nov 2024

Zhao Changpeng, the billionaire founder of the Binance cryptocurrency exchange, arrived at the Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai to rapturous applause and a long line of fans eager for a selfie with him. Deep in the pulsating crowd, a man yelled “he is a martyr” while in another part of the room a promoter of a start-up boldly declared: “the king is back!”

Back, that is, from a US prison halfway around the world. Yet the crypto billionaire known as CZ is not back at the helm of the largest crypto exchange, since his plea deal with the US Department of Justice (DOJ) forbids him from leading the company. And he says he is OK with that.

Following his appearance in Dubai, Zhao spoke with Bloomberg a day before Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election sent crypto prices soaring and CZ’s estimated net worth to almost US$53 billion. He reflected on his forced separation from Binance and four months of incarceration during which he passed the time by working out, writing a book and talking crypto with fellow inmates.

“I don’t think I want to go back” to being Binance’s chief executive officer, Zhao said in the interview, his first comments to the press since his release. “I’ve been leading the company for seven years. I enjoyed it. It’s a lot of work. But I think that chapter is that chapter.”

Zhao leaves the US District Court in Seattle, Washington, in November 2023. Photo: Getty Images/TNS

Zhao said he has even received offers to sell his controlling stake in the exchange – equity that makes up the bulk of his net worth – yet he would not disclose from whom or for how much.