Binance co-founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao has spent the previous 12 months rebuilding affect after serving 4 months in jail for violating US Anti-Cash Laundering (AML) guidelines.
Binance paid a $4.3-billion penalty nice; Zhao himself paid a $50-million legal nice. He additionally obtained a lifetime ban from holding an govt place on the change.
Over the 12 months that adopted his launch in September 2024, Zhao resurfaced with authorities advisory roles. He moved memecoins together with his X posts and fended off claims by The Wall Road Journal that he was courting affect by way of the Trump household and the World Liberty Basis.
In mid-September 2025, Zhao up to date his X profile introduction from “ex-@binance” to “@binance.” Then on Oct. 23, he obtained a pardon from US President Donald Trump.
These are the strikes that saved him related within the 12 months main as much as his pardon.
Binance Labs rebrands and YZi Labs expands
Even with out an govt position, Zhao continues to learn from Binance’s efficiency. He reportedly nonetheless owns about 90% of the corporate.
In February, he posted a screenshot suggesting that 98% of his private crypto investments are in BNB (BNB). Forbes pegs his internet price at roughly $87.2 billion, although Zhao insists, “I don’t have that a lot.”
Zhao said in November 2024 that he didn’t intend to return to the change’s management. However following his pardon, the circumstances round his potential involvement with the change have modified. Binance didn’t reply to Cointelegraph by press time.
Richard Teng now leads the centralized exchange, whereas Zhao has shifted his focus to YZi Labs — the enterprise arm previously generally known as Binance Labs — the place he took on a mentoring role after its rebrand in January.
YZi Labs has been actively deploying capital in crypto, AI and biotechnology. It led the November 2024 seed spherical in Astherus, which might later turn into the derivatives platform Aster, and it not too long ago increased its exposure to Ethena, the issuer of the artificial greenback USDe, which has climbed into the highest 25 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization with greater than $10 billion in circulation.
The agency has additionally backed initiatives throughout the infrastructure stack, corresponding to Digital Asset and its Canton Community and US-based 10X Capital’s BNB Treasury initiative and Aspecta. Its most up-to-date huge splash is a $1-billion commitment to help builders on the BNB Chain.
Beloved pet turns into memecoin money cow
Solana was the undisputed chief in memecoins in 2024. In 2025, nonetheless, BNB Chain has been giving Solana a run for its SOL (SOL).
That shift began on Feb. 11, when BNB Chain’s roadmap reaffirmed its backing for the meme ecosystem. Two days later, Zhao shared an extended X publish about reuniting with his dog, Broccoli, after his authorized points within the US, including on the finish that he isn’t launching a memecoin however the BNB Basis would possibly reward prime tokens.
The publish triggered a wave of BNB memecoin hypothesis and briefly pushed PancakeSwap’s quantity forward of Solana’s most important meme buying and selling venues.
Associated: BNB wins ‘Uptober’ amid Binance market crash scrutiny
By October, BNB Chain’s meme momentum hadn’t slowed. Community charges topped the trade at factors, and the chain climbed to second place in a number of core exercise metrics. Its 4.meme launchpad even outpaced Solana’s Pump.enjoyable in new token creation for a couple of days.
Zhao’s beef with WSJ and the pardon query
One of many early public indicators that Zhao was open to clemency got here in December 2024, when he posted that he “wouldn’t thoughts a pardon” from Trump.
In March 2025, The Wall Road Journal reported that members of the Trump household had held discussions with Binance about buying a stake in its US arm and urged a reference to Zhao’s pursuit of a pardon. Zhao rejected the report, claiming that he had no conversations with anybody a few Binance.US deal. The dispute was extensively coated and intensified scrutiny over whether or not enterprise pursuits and authorized aid had been being intertwined. Zhao then called the article “motivated as an assault on the President and crypto.”
The strain escalated in Might when The Wall Road Journal published one other story alleging Zhao had acted as a “fixer” by introducing activist Bilal Bin Saqib to World Liberty Monetary, a crypto enterprise related to the Trump household. Zhao referred to as it “one other hit piece,” saying he met Saqib for the primary time on the identical journey and had no position in any introductions.
Round that point, Democrats within the US Senate asked federal officers for details about studies that Zhao was in search of a pardon whereas Binance engaged in high-profile political and enterprise interactions.
In a podcast look that month, Zhao admitted that his legal professionals had been preparing a formal pardon application, claiming he moved ahead with the method after the media studies surfaced.
Zhao turns into a crypto statesman
Regardless of his felony conviction within the US, Zhao has continued to behave as a worldwide crypto statesman. A number of governments have introduced him into discussions as they design digital asset methods.
Malaysia was one of many first in 2025 to hunt his enter. After talks involving officers from Kuala Lumpur and the United Arab Emirates, Malaysian authorities mentioned that they had been contemplating updates to their crypto regulatory method, knowledgeable partially by discussions with Zhao and his team.
Pakistan went additional. In April, the federal government formally appointed Zhao as a crypto adviser. The nation explored the modernization of its monetary sector and sought insights from main trade gamers, moderately than relying totally on restrictive oversight.
Associated: Countries across Africa approve new crypto laws as adoption grows
Quickly after, Kyrgyzstan appointed him as a strategic adviser because it expanded its involvement in state-backed digital belongings. By October, the nation had launched a stablecoin on BNB Chain and confirmed that BNB would be a part of Bitcoin in its nationwide crypto reserves.
FTX and US regulation are Zhao’s two recurring complications
In June 2025, Zhao requested a Delaware chapter court docket to dismiss FTX’s lawsuit. The grievance sought to recuperate virtually $1.8 billion from Binance’s 2021 share-buyback deal. The FTX property alleges the transaction was a fraudulent switch funded with buyer belongings.
Zhao mentioned the claims stretch US regulation too far. He argued “each pertinent half” of the deal happened offshore. His submitting calls FTX’s idea “nonsensical” and accuses the corporate of attempting accountable him for Sam Bankman-Fried’s crimes.
FTX additionally cites Zhao’s November 2022 X posts about promoting Binance’s FTX Token (FTT) holdings as a set off for the financial institution run that uncovered its insolvency. Zhao counters that the posts solely revealed a “fraudulent enterprise” already collapsing underneath its personal weight.
Hyperliquid competitor Aster booms
Aster exploded onto the scene in September 2025, quickly difficult Hyperliquid’s dominance in onchain derivatives. The platform claimed about $2 billion in whole worth locked (TVL) by Sept. 18-19, immediately positioning itself as a Binance-aligned rival to Hyperliquid.
However momentum got here with controversy. DefiLlama publicly delisted Aster’s knowledge in early October, citing issues about knowledge integrity. The info platform quietly relisted the change however mentioned the problems haven’t been resolved.
The strain between Hyperliquid and Binance intensified through the latest $19-billion liquidation occasion, when Hyperliquid’s Jeff Yan accused exchanges of under-reporting liquidation knowledge to melt how dangerous issues regarded. His publish particularly named Binance and implied that centralized platforms weren’t being sincere about threat.
Zhao fired again on X, saying, “Whereas others tried to disregard, disguise, shift blame, or assault rivals, the important thing BNB Chain ecosystem gamers (Binance, Venus, and extra) took tons of of hundreds of thousands out of their very own pockets to PROTECT USERS.”
With a presidential pardon in hand, Zhao is not outlined by a conviction or a sentence. His detractors argue {that a} pardon doesn’t erase the actions that led to it. His supporters argue the case towards him was political overreach moderately than legal misconduct.
He has already recentered himself within the ecosystem by backing fast-rising BNB Chain initiatives and advising governments on crypto technique. Zhao’s newfound freedom will sign whether or not he and Binance deepen their presence within the US or proceed specializing in the broader BNB DeFi ecosystem.
Journal: Mysterious Mr Nakamoto author: Finding Satoshi would hurt Bitcoin
