Changpeng Zhao announced Tuesday that he will step down as CEO of cryptocurrency exchange Binance following a $4.3 billion settlement the company reached with the US Department of Justice to resolve charges related to money laundering.
Zhao, who founded Binance in 2017, had transformed it into the world’s largest crypto exchange but has now decided to pursue other opportunities outside the company. This brings an end to Zhao’s influential career in the cryptocurrency industry, which began over a decade ago.
Zhao was born in Lianyungang, China in 1977. In the 1980s, at the age of 12, he immigrated to Canada with his family, his parents were both schoolteachers. To help support his family, Zhao held worked a number of service jobs, including flipping burgers at McDonald’s. Despite humble beginnings, he later on became one of the world’s most influential businessmen through his leadership of Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange.
Here’s a brief timeline of Zhao’s foray into the cryptocurrency industry:
- 2001-2005: After graduating from McGill University in Canada with a degree in Computer Science, Zhao serves as Head of Tradebook Futures Development for Bloomberg.
- 2005: Zhao moves to Shanghai and establishes his first technology startup company called Fusion Systems, known for its high-frequency trading platforms and systems for stockbrokers. Zhao also joins Blockchain.info, a Bitcoin wallet and block explorer service.
- 2013: Zhao joins OKCoin, one of China’s largest crypto exchanges, as Chief Technology Officer. Later that year, he led the technical effort to launch Bitcoin futures trading at OKCoin and expand the company into international markets.
- 2015: Zhao leaves OKCoin, citing “differences of direction”. Later that year, he founded exchange systems provider BijieTech.
- 2017: Zhao sets up Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume. The digital asset platform raised $15 million in an initial coin offering and began trading eleven days later. He also launched Binance Coin (BNB), the company’s native coin.
- 2018: Binance launches Binance Chain, a blockchain, and Binance DEX, a decentralised exchange.
- March 2023: The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) files a lawsuit against Binance and Zhao, accusing them of willful evasion of US law and breaching derivatives rules.
- June 2023: The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that it was suing Zhao and Binance on 13 charges for alleged violations of US securities rules.
- November 2023: Zhao resigns from Binance and agrees to pay a $50 million fine as part of a guilty plea in US federal charges. The cryptocurrency exchange also agrees to plead guilty and pay $4.3 billion in fines for money laundering. Richard Teng replaces Zhao as CEO.
Zhao steps down as Binance CEO
Arguably the most influential figure in the global crypto industry, Zhao pleaded guilty of money laundering charges. This solves a year-long probe into the world’s largest crypto exchange, which included allegations of providing money transfer facilities to users in US-sanctioned jurisdictions including Cuba, Iran, Syria and Russian-occupied regions of Ukraine.
As part of the plea agreement, Binance has agreed to forfeit $2.51 billion and to pay a criminal fine of $1.8 billion for a total financial penalty of over $4.31 billion. The company will also retain an independent compliance monitor for three years and remediate and enhance its AML and sanctions compliance programs.
This comes as the industry seeks to rebuild trust among the public, which was shattered after the collapse of FTX last year and all the allegations of fraud and misconduct against its embattled founder Sam Bankman-Fried.
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