Fresh out of prison, Changpeng Zhao, known as CZ Binance or CZ BNB, is now worth $70 billion and founded YZi Labs. He’s transforming Binance Holdings, a former venture capital arm, into a family office. Binance Labs, which manages billions in crypto assets, will now be called YZi Labs, as announced on January 23rd of this year.
CZ has reappointed Ella Zhang, who initially established Binance Labs in 2018 before leaving after two years, to head the new venture. YZi Labs will also handle the wealth of Yi He, Binance’s co-founder and CZ’s partner, along with their three children.
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CZ’s Early Life Struggles to $70 Billion Success, From McDonald to Yzi
Changpeng Zhao, was born in Jiangsu, China, in 1977. At 12, CZ moved with his family to Vancouver, Canada, due to his father who faced exile for political reasons.
In British Columbia, Canada, he worked at McDonald’s and a gas station to support his family in his younger years. Despite hardships, CZ showed an early interest in computers and opted to study computer science at McGill University in Montreal.
After graduating, he joined the Tokyo Stock Exchange, where he developed software for matching trade orders.
In 2001, CZ moved to New York to work at Bloomberg Tradebook. He then developed futures trading software, gaining deep financial tech experience and expertise. By 2005, he founded Fusion Systems in Shanghai, and built high-frequency trading systems for brokers.
After, CZ began his crypto journey in 2013 after he learned about
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during a poker game, he sold his apartment to go all-in in Bitcoin. An asset that then helped to catapult his wealth and still is in his holding. “If you can’t hold, you won’t be rich”, a famous CZ’s quote amongst Crypto Twitter community.
If you can't hold, you won't be rich.
— CZ 🔶 BNB (@cz_binance) February 10, 2021
In 2017, CZ launched Binance, which raised $15 million through an ICO. Soon, it handled millions of transactions daily and quickly became the world’s biggest and most trusted crypto exchange.
Contrary to his Binance success, CZ faced US legal issues in 2023, including fraud and money laundering charges. He pleaded guilty, agreeing to a $50 million fine, while Binance itself paid a hefty $4.3 billion penalty.
In addition to this, CZ stepped down as CEO, changed his alias to CZ BNB, and retained a significant stake in Binance. His legal battles were concluded with a four-month prison sentence in 2024.
YZi Labs After Binance Labs – CZ & Yi He’s Family Office
After his release from California prison, CZ, in his post-prison buffed look [absolute chad], pledged in a post on X to focus on investments that prioritize “impact” over returns.
He also said his recent project named Giggle Academy, a non-profit online education platform, would be a big part of his life. In addition, CZ turned Binance Labs into YZi Labs, a family office.
This new entity will manage his and Yi He’s wealth. YZi Labs planned to invest in AI and DeSci based projects. With YZi plans to scale up its team from nine to twenty members.
(Source)
CZ will actively participate in YZi Labs’ investment decisions while Ella Zhang returns to lead YZi. YZi labs planned to invest on project with $500,000 to $50 million range.
A Trump-led crypto-friendly US has bumped his net worth to around $70 billion, especially with
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ranging around $700 a coin, and Bitcoin keeps defending its $100k mark. Furthermore, there’s no immediate need for him to add personal capital to YZi Labs, as CZ significant stake in Binance Holdings is his key asset.
Binance’s journey from a humble background to a crypto billionaire makes him a key figure in crypto. His resilience in facing legal and regulatory challenges is noteworthy, too. Now, with YZi Labs, Chengpeng Zhao looks to influence not just crypto but his views on technology in general.
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