Changpeng Zhao
Changpeng Zhao, popularly known as CZ, is a Chinese-Canadian entrepreneur who founded Binance, one of the most important cryptocurrency exchanges in the world. Binance is also regarded as one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world
Changpeng was born in Jiangsu, China, in 1977 and later moved to Vancouver, Canada, with his family.
After completing his studies in computer science at McGill University in Montreal, Zhao worked in Tokyo for a number of years, first at the Tokyo Stock Exchange, then at Bloomberg Tradebook, and finally at Fusion Systems, where he was involved in the development of high-frequency trading systems. In 2005, he relocated to Shanghai in order to launch his own business, which he named Fusion Systems.
In 2013, he made his debut in the cryptocurrency market by helping to establish OKCoin, a cryptocurrency exchange located in China. After a year of service as chief technology officer there, he left the company to start BijieTech, which specializes in developing high-performance blockchain solutions for a variety of customers.
Binance was initially launched as a cryptocurrency exchange that was headquartered in China and was established by Zhao in July of 2017. Binance relocated its headquarters to Malta after the Chinese government issued a ban on cryptocurrency exchanges in September 2017. Since that time, Binance has grown to become one of the most important cryptocurrency exchanges in the world.
Binance has experienced rapid expansion thanks to Zhao's direction. The company now provides its customers with a diverse selection of cryptocurrency trading pairs and a number of other products and services, such as a decentralized exchange, a mobile wallet, and Binance Smart Chain, a blockchain platform that facilitates the creation of decentralized applications (dapps).
Binance introduced Binance.US in 2019, which is a cryptocurrency exchange tailored specifically for users located in the United States. Binance has also established its own blockchain, which it refers to as BNB Chain. This blockchain is what powers Binance DEX as well as other decentralized applications.
Zhao is now based in Montreal.
In addition to his work at Binance, Zhao is an outspoken supporter of the widespread use of cryptocurrencies and the technology behind blockchains. Zhao is widely considered as one of the most powerful persons in the cryptocurrency sector. Zhao's success has earned him a place on Forbes' list of billionaires, and he is widely regarded as one of the most influential people in the cryptocurrency industry.
