Changpeng Zhao（趙長鵬）, who goes by CZ, is the founder and CEO of Binance（幣安）, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world.

The Chinese-Canadian coder cut his teeth building high-frequency trading systems for Wall Street’s flash boys.

Zhao founded Binance in July 2017, raising $15 million through an initial coin offering.

In 2022, Binance facilitated spot trades worth $5.3 trillion, over two-thirds of all volume handled by centralized crypto exchanges.

Binance has faced regulatory scrutiny and investigations across Europe, Asia and the U.S. over concerns of permitting money laundering and wire fraud. Binance has denied all wrongdoing.