Changpeng Zhao is a Chinese-Canadian entrepreneur and business executive. He is the founder of the world's largest crypto exchange platform, Binance. Zhao also served as the CTO of OKCoin for a few years, and he was also a member of the Blockchain.info developers’ team. Zhao's company, Binance, has a profit of more than $800 million (as of December 2021), and the company also has the most significant trading volume in the world. So, let us dive into this article to read this billionaire's journey and success story.
Fun Fact - Zhao was also ranked third in the 'Richest People in Crypto' list by Forbes Magazine in 2018.
Changpeng Zhao – Key Highlights
- Full Name – Changpeng Zhao
- Place of Birth – Jiangsu, China
- Other Name – CZ
- Alma Mater – McGill University
- Qualification – Major in Computer Science
- Designation – Founder and CEO of Binance
- Residence - Singapore
- Citizenship - Canadian
- Net worth - $1.9 billion
- Source of Wealth – Crypto Exchange, Self-made
Changpeng Zhao – Early Life
Changpeng Zhao was born in China's Jiangsu province on 10 Sep 1977. His family moved to Canada in the late 1980s when he was just 12 years old. His family settled in Vancouver, British Columbia. Zhao's parents were teachers in China, and his father worked as a university instructor. However, he got branded as a pro-bourgeois intellect, which made him exiled to rural areas soon after his son's birth.
Changpeng Zhao – Education
Zhao studied computer science at McGill University, Montreal. He worked hard as a teenage kid to support the financial condition of his family. He worked late-night shifts and did small jobs at various places.
Changpeng Zhao – Career Timeline
- Early Life – Zhao completed his major in computer science from McGill University and started his internship in Tokyo. After that, he worked at the Tokyo Stock Exchange as a subcontractor. Zhao's job was to develop software for complementing trade orders. He also grabbed a job after that completing his internship. After that, Zhao started working full-time at the Bloomberg Trade book. He worked there for four years as a developer of futures trading software.
- Founded Fusion System – Zhao's entrepreneurial journey started in 2005 when he founded Fusion Systems. After moving to Shanghai, he founded this company, and his company was one of the fastest high-frequency trading systems for brokers.
- CTO of OKCoin – Zhao started working on various projects related to Crypto at the beginning of 2013. He also worked in building Blockchain.info. However, Zhao's significant accomplishments to date were when he became the CTO (Chief Technology Officer) of OKCoin.
- Founded Binance – In 2017, Zhao took a firm decision and left OKCoin only to focus on his new company, Binance (crypto exchange). He launched it in July 2017 and successfully raised a seed funding of $15 million during an initial coin offering. As a result, Binance achieved the highest trading volume in less than a year and became the world's largest crypto exchange. He also launched Binance Smart Chain (blockchain network), which developed the decentralized finance industry.
Changpeng Zhao – Binance
Binance is the world's largest crypto exchange platform regarding daily trading volume. The company was formerly based in China but had to move out of the country due to the Chinese government's regulations against Crypto. Binance's current headquarters is in the Cayman Islands, Mahe, Seychelles, and its net worth is more than $90 billion (as of 2020). Furthermore, the company's FY 2020-2021 was over $800 million, 45% more than the previous year.
Binance has also developed its cryptocurrencies, Binance Coin (BNB) and Binance Smart Chain (BSC). BNB got launched in 2017, and BSC got launched in 2020, and it operates using a combination of proof of authority and proof of stake. As a result, BNB was the third highest market capitalization crypto in 2021, with 21 approved validators.
Changpeng Zhao – Unknown Facts
Some of the unknown facts about Zhao are as follows:
- Zhao's parents were professors, and they got exiled from the country soon after his birth.
- His father got labeled as pro-bourgeois intellect.
- Zhao did several mini-jobs to support his family's condition. He also filled burgers at Mc Donald’s after completing his overnight shift at the gas station.
- Zhao started working very early to better his family's financial condition.
- He started learning about Crypto in 2013 and started with his first crypto project in 2017.
Changpeng Zhao – The Third Richest Crypto Man
Changpeng lived a life full of struggles, and he was not born with a silver spoon, and he always had to work hard to make ends meet. Zhao has been working multiple shifts since his teenage, only to support the poor condition of his family. But he never ignored his studies, and now he is one of the wealthiest self-made billionaires. He changed his fate by working hard and ensuring a good life for his family. People like Zhao are an inspiration for all those going through a bad right now. Remember, it will end if you want to change your destiny.
