Changpeng Zhao (2024)

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Who is the richest man in Binance? ›

Changpeng Zhao, the founder of cryptocurrency firm Binance, has become the world's richest prisoner after he was sentenced to four months in jail on Tuesday, the Telegraph reported.

Key Takeaways. Binance founder Changpeng Zhao was sentenced to four months in prison for violations of the Bank Secrecy Act during his time at the crypto exchange. The Department of Justice (DOJ) sought a three-year prison sentence, while CZ's lawyers requested probation instead.

Changpeng Zhao, known as "CZ," founded Binance, which rapidly grew to be the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world by daily trading volume. With a net worth estimated at $39.6 billion as of March 2024, Zhao's story reflects the fast-paced and unpredictable world of cryptocurrency.

Changpeng Zhao, the founder of the world's leading cryptocurrency exchange, was sentenced on Tuesday to four months in prison after pleading guilty last year to charges that he failed to maintain an effective anti-money laundering program.

SEATTLE, April 30 (Reuters) - Changpeng Zhao, the former chief executive of Binance, was sentenced on Tuesday to four months in prison after pleading guilty to violating U.S. laws against money laundering at the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange.

This techie is the world's richest prisoner, with a net worth of $43 billion. Binance founder Changpeng Zhao sentenced to 4 months for failing to prevent cybercriminals. Guilty of US laws violations. Assets remain untouched.

Binance was founded in 2017 by Changpeng Zhao, a developer who had previously created high-frequency trading software. Binance was initially based in China, then moved to Japan shortly before the Chinese government restricted cryptocurrency companies.

Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin, is believed to own the most bitcoins, with estimates suggesting over 1 million BTC mined in the early days of the network.

He is currently based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Zhao met his wife Yang Weiqing in 1999 and they married in 2003. They have two children. Although still married to Yang, Zhao has been in a "life partner" relationship with his business partner and fellow Binance co-founder, He Yi, since they met in 2014.

33 billion USD (2024)

Changpeng Zhao / Net worth

What companies does Changpeng Zhao own? ›

Changpeng Zhao, who goes by CZ, is the founder and former CEO of Binance, 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 2017, raising $15 million through an initial coin offering.

FTX collapsed in early November 2022 after journalists reported an affiliated trading firm, Alameda Research, derived most of its value from speculative cryptocurrency tokens.

Investors withdrew as much as $3 billion from Binance on Tuesday, according to blockchain analytics firm Nansen, as a deluge of negative headlines about the cryptocurrency industry rattled users of the world's largest exchange.

BNB is Binance's native alternative coin (altcoin), and has a maximum supply of 200 million, with a circulating supply that is considerably lower at 153 million. This reduced supply is due to buy-backs of BNB implemented by Binance, which have contributed to the coin's strong price growth.

A contrite Changpeng “CZ” Zhao has been sentenced to four months in federal prison, for his apparently limited role in the illegal activity at Binance, the crypto exchange he founded in 2017.