Changpeng Zhao clarified his current role at Binance and Binance.US during an interview with CoinDesk in Washington, D.C. earlier this month, stating he is the largest shareholder of both companies but holds no executive or operational position at either. Zhao stepped down as Binance CEO at prosecutors' request, served a four-month prison sentence, and received a presidential pardon. He described his Washington visit as a reintroduction effort to address what he characterized as widespread misunderstandings about himself and Binance. Zhao's legal settlement and subsequent imprisonment marked a significant regulatory enforcement action against the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume.
CZ Maintains Largest Shareholder Position Without Operational Role
Zhao confirmed he is the single largest shareholder of both Binance and Binance.US but does not run either company. "I'm still the single largest shareholder of Binance, but I don't run Binance," Zhao said in the CoinDesk interview. He holds a board seat at Binance.US but no executive position. Binance.com operates under two co-CEOs, while Binance.US has its own separate CEO.
One of Binance's co-CEOs is Yi He, who is also Zhao's personal partner. The two share a home in the United Arab Emirates. Zhao stated they do not discuss Binance business at home and maintain separate professional roles. "She was probably giving me more instructions even when I was CEO," Zhao said.
Zhao described his preferred involvement across companies he backs as informal advising rather than board membership or executive titles. He said founders from his portfolio companies can message him directly for ten-minute calls. "I operate on that very short, frequent interaction kind of way," Zhao said. He stated he monitors Binance's performance through the bitcoin price rather than financial statements. "If the bitcoin price is going up, the company is generally doing well," Zhao said.
CZ Served Four-Month Prison Sentence and Received Presidential Pardon
Zhao stepped down from Binance's CEO role at prosecutors' request and served a four-month prison sentence before receiving a presidential pardon. He framed his Washington, D.C. visit earlier this month as a reintroduction. "I've perceived there's a lot of misunderstandings about Binance, about myself," Zhao told CoinDesk. "I'm here to just talk to more people who may want to understand us more, just so that when they see me, they hear from me too, they get a sense of who I am."
CZ Argues U.S. Crypto Market Faces Lower Liquidity
Zhao stated U.S. crypto users face higher costs due to lower liquidity compared to global exchanges. "U.S. consumers don't have access to the best liquidity," Zhao said. "That means they pay a much higher price to buy and sell crypto." He argued American crypto traders receive worse execution prices than overseas counterparts despite the United States running the largest capital markets globally.
Binance.US licenses technology and products from Binance Global under a formal licensing agreement. Zhao described this structure as creating a foundation for market depth. He stated Binance.US aims to offer lower-cost services to American users. Zhao said 80% of global GDP sits outside the United States, with other countries actively welcoming crypto activity. "If the U.S. wants to be the crypto capital of the world, it needs to have better liquidity," Zhao said.
Zhao ruled out personally running Binance.US. "It needs to be somebody local; it needs to be somebody who's on the ground," he said.
Binance and Binance.US Maintain Separate Leadership Teams
Zhao described Binance.com and Binance.US as maintaining entirely separate leadership teams. He stated the two leadership groups almost never communicate with each other. "Actually, I don't think they ever talk to each other," Zhao said. "Two independent teams." He called them "two very separate companies" with separate investor bases.
Binance.US licenses technology and products from Binance Global under a formal licensing agreement. Zhao stated this creates a defined contractual relationship rather than an informal one.
FAQ
What is CZ's current ownership and role at Binance and Binance.US?
CZ is the largest shareholder of both Binance and Binance.US but holds no executive or operational role at either company. At Binance.US, he holds a board seat. He describes his preferred involvement as informal advising rather than formal executive responsibility.
Why did CZ step down as Binance CEO and what happened afterward?
CZ stepped down as Binance CEO at prosecutors' request, served a four-month prison sentence, and received a presidential pardon. He has since conducted a reintroduction effort in Washington, D.C. to address what he describes as widespread misunderstandings about himself and Binance.
What is the relationship between Binance and Binance.US?
Binance and Binance.US maintain entirely separate leadership teams with separate investor bases. Binance.US licenses technology and products from Binance Global under a formal licensing agreement. CZ stated the two leadership groups almost never communicate with each other.
