How Binance’s Global Expansion Made CZ One of Crypto's Most Influential Figures

I was reading my daily online newspaper when I came across an article that prompted me to write this one. The piece was so authentic that it made me realize once more that CZ is a person the crypto industry needs, more than ever! He still has something to give to the space, with his expertise that led Binance to become what it is today.

Changpeng Zhao, by his full name, is a global entrepreneur with Chinese-Canadian nationality who made history a few years back when he ditched everything, sold his house, and invested it all in Bitcoin. He isn’t Satoshi Nakamoto, but he started one of the best crypto platforms the world has seen until today—Binance. The platform started from a dream when CZ sold his house and put everything into Bitcoin.

Some folks, at the time, called him names like "you must be crazy to sell your house to buy that internet money." His mother, at the time, didn’t get the idea but like any other mother, she understood his decision and let her son gamble with that approach.

Surrounded by a small but competent team, CZ built Binance from scratch with the help of his teammates. He slowly started to grow and expand globally, but even before it had "jumped" to the world, he was forced to change his headquarters when China banned any kind of crypto trading on the mainland.

For a while, the exchange didn’t have an official HQ, as CZ claimed that the platform was global and didn’t need just one place to be, but a global presence. Despite all those statements, the platform needed a base and went to Malta, where the government was crypto-friendly between 2018-2020.

Then, they moved to the Cayman Islands and Seychelles, and later to France, where the platform secured a regulatory license to operate in the country and became a hub to offer services to the European market directly. Now, they have secured more licenses and are operating between France, Bahrain, and Dubai. As CZ said, Binance doesn’t have any official headquarters and operates as a global entity.

Over the years, CZ operated Binance, even after the hack where the platform lost more than 7000 Bitcoins. He paid back all the customers without hesitation and expanded the business reach to more places where finances were a problem. CZ offered the world his skills and even allowed unknown places on the planet to use crypto through Binance, using their numerous methods of payments and their peer-to-peer market.

When the world’s powerful nations started to take notice, Binance had become a giant, and they grew afraid of it, trying to stop him. For years, they pursued him. There’s a saying, "If they are after you, they will definitely catch you," and after years, the government caught him. Not because he’s a criminal—no—but because CZ was becoming more powerful than nations, and he managed all his challenges like the pro he is.

At the end of 2023, they finally accused him and Binance of heinous crimes. But CZ didn’t run; he was actively dealing with the DoJ to resolve things for good, even paying astronomical fines, which didn’t help him at all. The U.S. government, on the other hand, became $4.3 billion richer.

Now, CZ is coming back from his sentence after being in jail for 4 months. On September 29, he will be released.

One thing to note: CZ never stole customer funds, never played dirty with people’s money, and never invented schemes to steal from customers. In fact, CZ distributed more money to his customers at Binance than any other CEO in the space. For this and more, the world of crypto needs Changpeng Zhao. However, the DoJ played dirty and placed rules in their agreement that will forbid him from fully coming back to the industry.

But the world needs to salute this man for all he did for the space. Today, the planet has a strong crypto presence thanks to CZ and his belief in the industry. LET'S TAKE OUR HAT OFF—CZ deserves it. Welcome back, CZ, on September 29. The world thanks you for all you’ve done for the space. Remember:

CONTENT IS KING!