Despite the controversies trailing Changpeng Zhao’s stint as the CEO of Binance, one of the largest crypto exchanges in the world, his role in the development of the crypto town cannot be overestimated. His interest in crypto can be traced to 2013 when he learned about Bitcoin through his friend. Then, his friend, a venture capitalist introduced him to crypto while they were playing poker games together. Following his exposure to crypto, Changpeng Zhao decided to learn more about Bitcoin and fully ventured into it.
Ever since, Zhao has been fully involved in the development of the crypto town, launching Binance in 2017 after a $15 million ICO. His intention is to leverage the exchange to propel the popularity and adoption of crypto. Binance offers different varieties of crypto products and solutions to investors across the globe. Within a year of its establishment, CZ led Binance to become the largest crypto exchange.
Meanwhile, before founding Binance, CZ had great stints with numerous organizations including the Tokyo Stock Exchange and Bloomberg. Likewise, he founded numerous technological startups. For instance, around 2005, he created an IT startup with five other partners in China. The start-up was designated as a “Wholly Owned Foreign Enterprise.” He also co-founded Fusion system.
Changpeng Zhao and His Investments in the Crypto World
Changpeng Zhao during his stint as the CEO of Binance oversaw a host of investments in projects that had the potential to push the growth of the industry. One of the foremost investments the business mogul oversaw as the CEO is the investment in the now-defunct crypto exchange FTX. In December 2019, Binance under the leadership of Changpeng Zhao announced an undisclosed amount of investment in FTX.
Later reports pointed to how the investment was worth about $2.1 billion. The fund proved pivotal in building one of the largest crypto exchanges before it went down due to mismanagement. Furthermore, Binance also played a significant role in the takeover of X (formerly Twitter) by Tesla CEO, Elon Musk. The leading crypto exchange committed about $500 million to the acquisition of the platform.
Experts established that the financial commitment of Binance to the takeover emanated from how X has proved to be home to cryptocurrency. Almost every crypto project and personality has a presence on the microblogging app. In addition, Elon Musk’s idea of freeing the Twitter bird aligns with the financial freedom policy of the application. The aforementioned pointers according to experts triggered the investment.
According to Crunchbase, the leading exchange through its investment organ, Binance Lab has invested in more than 111 companies. The figure underlines how Binance has championed investing in various start-ups to grow the crypto landscape.
Changpeng Zhao as an Advocate Of Clearer Regulations
Apart from leveraging Binance to invest in projects, Changpeng Zhao is also popular as an advocate of a clearer crypto regulations. He strongly believes the implementation of clearer regulations is important for the crypto industry to move forward. Don’t forget that he is currently being tried by the Department of Justice following allegations that he ran a sham compliance program as the CEO of Binance. Just recently, he stepped down from his active role as the CEO of Binance after pleading guilty to the allegations.
Conclusion
Meanwhile, the contribution of Binance under Changpeng Zhao isn’t limited to investment alone. Under his leadership, the crypto exchange championed various initiatives that were aimed at making the crypto landscape safe for individual and institutional investors. Furthermore, on numerous occasions, the exchange intercepted stolen funds by hackers.
Additionally, Changpeng Zhao has spearheaded collaboration with various law enforcement agencies to curb the illegal use of crypto. Binance’s collaborative initiative with law enforcement agencies under CZ saw the exchange work with the Taiwan Police.
Individually, Changpeng Zhao has weighed his opinion on critical issues that aided clarity about certain things in the industry. His step away from Binance will leave a great vacuum behind and it will take another prominent figure a lot to fill the space.