Fresh out of prison, Changpeng Zhao, known as CZ Binance or CZ BNB, is now worth $70 billion and founded Yzi Labs. It is transforming Binance Holdings, a former venture capital armin a family member. Binance Labs, which manages billions in cryptocurrency assets, will now be called Yzi Labs, as announced on January 23 this year.
CZ renounced Ella Zhang, who initially set up Binance Labs in 2018 before leaving after two years, to lead the new venture. Yzi Labs will also manage the wealth of Binance co-founder and CZ partner Yi He, along with their three children.
(Source)
CZ’s early life struggles to a $70 billion hit, from McDonald to Yzi
Changpeng Zhao, was born in Jiangsu, China, in 1977. At 12 years old, CZ moved with his family to Vancouver, Canada, due to his father facing 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 the difficulties, CZ showed an early interest in computers and opted to study computer science at McGill University in Montreal.
After graduation, he joined the Tokyo Stock Exchange, where he developed software to match trade orders.
In 2001, CZ moved to New York to work at Flegon Tradebook. He then developed futures trading software, gaining deep financial technology experience and expertise. In 2005, he founded Fusion Systems in Shanghai and built high-frequency trading systems for brokers.
After, CZ started his cryptocurrency journey in 2013 after learning the SVG path .cwp-coin-chart {width: 0.65! IMPORTANT; }
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During a poker game, he sold his apartment to go all-in on Bitcoin. An asset that therefore helped catapult his wealth and is still in his stake. “If you can’t keep, you won’t be rich,” a famous quote by CZ among the crypto Twitter community.
If you can’t keep it, you won’t be rich.
– cz
Bnb (@cz_binance) February 10, 2021
In 2017, CZ launched Binance, which raised $15 million via an ICO. It was soon handling millions of transactions every day and quickly became the largest and most trusted cryptocurrency exchange in the world.
In contrast to his Binance success, CZ faced US legal issues in 2023, including fraud and money laundering charges. He pleaded guilty, accepting a $50 million fine, while Binance itself paid a hefty $4.3 billion penalty.
On top of that, CZ resigned as CEO, changed his alias to CZ BNB, and maintained a significant stake in Binance. His legal battles resulted in a four-month prison sentence in 2024.
Yzi Labs after Binance Labs – CZ & Yi is familiar
After his release from California prison, CZ, in his post-prison bust look [absolute chad]pledged in a post on X to focus on investments that prioritize “impact” on returns.
He also said that his recent project called Giggle Academy, a non-profit online education platform, would be an important part of his life. Additionally, CZ transformed Binance Labs into Yzi Labs, a family member.
This new entity will manage his and her wealth. Yzi Labs has planned to invest in AI and Desci-based projects. With Yzi he plans to increase his team from nine to twenty members.
(Source)
CZ will actively participate in Yzi Labs’ investment decisions while Ella Zhang will return to lead Yzi. Yzi Labs planned to invest in projects with a range of $500,000 to $50 million.
A CRYPTO ADIFIED TO Trump has bumped his net worth to around $70 billion, especially with the SVG path .cwp-coin-chart {Wifth: 0.65! Important; }
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Roughly around $700 a coin and Bitcoin continues to defend its $100k mark. Furthermore, there is no immediate need for him to add personal capital to Yzi Labs, as CZ’s 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 cryptocurrency. Its resilience in dealing with legal and regulatory challenges is also noteworthy. Now, with Yzi Labs, Chengpeng Zhao appears to be influencing not only cryptocurrency but his views on technology in general.
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