Changpeng Zhao: Binance Rise, Net Worth & Crypto Empire
CZ, aka Changpeng Zhao, is well-known in the crypto world and is highly credited as the founder of Binance, the biggest cryptocurrency exchange judged by trading activity. He went from being a quiet developer to becoming a crypto powerhouse, which helped Binance keep the world’s crypto market steady. CZ experienced some legal hurdles and even spent a short time in prison, but he is still enormously powerful and rich. At the moment, his net worth is $64.8 billion, with Binance stock and crypto investments being the main cause of his wealth. The article examines the way Zhao grew with Binance, built up his financial empire, and left his mark on the crypto world, all based on what is happening now.
The Rise of Binance
He founded Binance during 2017 and managed to raise $15 million by selling Binance Coin, also called BNB, in an ICO. Users were drawn to Binance early because it was easy to use, charged low fees, and listed many cryptocurrencies. In early 2018, Binance broke records by becoming the world’s biggest exchange by handling billions of dollars’ worth of trades every day. Having worked on Wall Street building high-frequency trading tools for firms like Bloomberg, Zhao applied these skills to Binance, making the exchange able to manage a lot of trades with few interruptions.
Binance also saw growth outside the trading market. That same year, Zhao released Binance Smart Chain, a platform that supports smart contracts, and set it up to rival Ethereum. BNB was launched to help with trading fee discounts, but over time it has played a key role in supporting dApps and DeFi projects on the system. In May 2025, BNB reached a market cap of over $80 billion, making it one of the biggest cryptocurrencies in the world. Thanks to Zhao’s strategic direction, Binance Charity Foundation was formed and Binance participated in projects such as the $500 million Twitter deal by Elon Musk in 2022, helping Binance reach more people worldwide.
Changpeng Zhao’s Net Worth
His wealth is mostly influenced by the success of Binance. According to a May 2025 report from Forbes, Zhao has a net worth of $64.8 billion, which puts him at number 24 globally and just behind the richest Canadian. Most of his wealth is the result of him owning 90% of the Binance company, which has reached a peak value of $60 billion. Zhao’s fortune plummeted from $96 billion in 2022 to $17.3 billion in 2023 because of increased regulatory scrutiny and the markets dropping. His net worth rose by $25 billion in 2023 due to a recovery in the crypto market and strong performance of Binance.
Zhao has a large part of his wealth locked into crypto, mainly BNB and Bitcoin outside Binance. In an interview last year, Zhao said 98.6% of what he owned was in BNB tokens, and only 1.32% was in Bitcoin as a show of confidence in Binance. Because the value of the BNB token has risen to over $540, the 41.6 million BNB tokens Zhao got from the 2017 ICO and the 58 million he still owns are now worth billions. Startup ventures like EthSign and Vana, as well as Dubai real estate, help spread out Zhao’s investments, although Binance remains his biggest interest.
| Asset |
Holding |
Estimated Value (USD) |
|
|
|
| Binance Stake |
90% ownership |
~$54 billion |
| BNB Tokens |
~99.6 million |
~$53.8 billion |
| Bitcoin |
Unknown quantity |
~$1 billion (est.) |
| Other Investments |
EthSign, Vana, Tokocrypto |
~$10–20 million |
Crypto Empire and Influence
Zhao’s influences go well past Binance’s exchange. Binance is at the center of Web3 with the BNB Chain hosting many decentralized exchange and NFT marketplace dApps. Binance’s user count of more than 150 million in 2023 shows its strength, with the platform handling about half of all global spot trades. In 2019, Zhao got an FTX stake, which he later sold for $2.1 billion in 2021, making his financial skills clear to see. In 2022, he shared tweets that caused the fall of FTX’s FTT token and showed how much sway he had over the market.
Zhao has continued to be an important figure in crypto after leaving prison. In April 2025, Zhao was picked to be a strategic advisor for Pakistan’s Crypto Council, followed by his appointment as an advisor on digital assets for Kyrgyzstan’s president in May. Giving $10 million to Vitalik Buterin’s open-source vaccine effort in 2025 shows Zhao is growing more interested in philanthropy. His creation of Giggle Academy, which uses blockchain for education, proves his dedication to applying technology for the wider good.
Legal Challenges and Resilience
Zhao has gone through many ups and downs. In November 2023, Zhao confessed to U.S. charges relating to breaking anti-money laundering laws, resigned as Binance’s CEO, and paid a $50 million fine. The company had to pay a record $4.3 billion fine. The charges came after Binance did not effectively manage compliance, which made it possible for illicit transactions to occur. Zhao was in prison for four months and finished his term in September 2024. Though prosecutors wanted him to serve three years, his being a first-time offender and pleading guilty made his sentence shorter.
In November 2024, the FTX bankruptcy estate filed a $1.8 billion lawsuit claiming Binance had carried out fraudulent stock deals in 2021. According to X, Zhao looked for a presidential pardon from Donald Trump in May 2025, revealing his intention to mend ties in the U.S. In spite of these difficulties, Binance under Richard Teng’s leadership has stayed profitable, with big investments from MGX of Abu Dhabi for $2 billion in March 2025.
Criticism and Controversies
Zhao’s rapid ascent drew scrutiny. There are claims that Binance concentrated too much on growth and not enough on following regulations, making it possible for illegal actions. Binance changed its strategy in the US, Japan, and Singapore because of regulatory fights and pulled out of countries such as Russia and Canada. When hackers took 7,000 BTC from Binance in 2019, user concerns about security increased, but Binance embraced the cost by giving reimbursements to its users. Some people think Zhao’s impact on markets, including his role in FTX’s collapse, is manipulative, but he claims everything was done transparently.
FAQs
Q1: What is Changpeng Zhao worth in the year 2025?
His net worth is about $64.8 billion, mainly because he owns about 90% of Binance and a lot of BNB tokens.
Q2: Zhao owns a huge amount of BNB tokens, with a reported total of 99.6 million.
Zhao owns close to 99.6 million BNB tokens, and they are now worth about $53.8 billion as of May 2025.
Q3: Why did Zhao give up being Binance’s CEO?
In November 2023, he stepped down after admitting guilty to breaking U.S. anti-money laundering rules and paying a $50 million penalty.
Q4: Is he invested in other digital coins apart from BNB?
Other than BNB, his main holdings include Bitcoin at 1.32%, plus minor positions in other tokens, but BNB remains his biggest position.
Q5: How is Zhao participating in crypto after completed his term in prison?
He advises on cryptocurrencies in Pakistan and Kyrgyzstan, while also giving attention to work with initiatives like Giggle Academy that focus on helping others.
Final Thoughts
Zhao’s founding of Binance disrupted the crypto trading world, and the company prospered globally despite problems with regulation. His $64.8 billion net worth is proof of his business acumen in crypto, despite the present legal problems showing the hazards of the sector. Instead of trading, Zhao is now giving advice and supporting philanthropy, pointing toward a different future; still, his position as the richest in crypto shapes the future of digital finance.
