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It’s reflection time for Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, after several months in jail.
“Interestingly, even with only four months in prison, it took me a few weeks or maybe a couple months once I got out to recalibrate … And then, you know, I looked forward to say, like, what can I do in my life,” Zhao said in a new episode of the Power Players with Brian Sozzi podcast (video above; listen in below).
Zhao — known in crypto circles as CZ — is a Canadian-born businessman who co-founded Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange. Forbes estimates his net worth at around $110 billion, landing him among the top 20 richest on the planet and the wealthiest Canadian alive.
Zhao’s legal troubles began when the Justice Department, following a years-long investigation, charged him with running a financial platform without basic anti-money laundering safeguards.
He pleaded guilty in November 2023, stepped down as Binance CEO, served four months in federal prison, and was released in September 2024.
On Oct. 23, 2025, President Trump signed a full pardon for Zhao, with the White House framing the prosecution as a Biden administration “war on cryptocurrency.”
Zhao said he still hasn’t had the opportunity to thank Trump in person, but he would like to do so.
Here are excerpts from our interview with Zhao.
On the crypto winter:
“The cycles, the winters will always come and go. But the industry is growing. $60,000 [for bitcoin], we think, is really low. Everyone’s panicking, but last winter, four years ago, it was $16,000. I think we just need more applications, more use cases. I think more and more use cases are coming. People are developing it.”
Changpeng Zhao, known also as CZ, speaks during Consensus Miami 2026 on May 7, 2026, in Miami Beach, Fla. (Romain Maurice/Getty Images)
(Romain Maurice via Getty Images)
On his experience in jail:
“I was treated just like anybody else, just like anybody, which is great. I was really worried that they would recognize me and they would treat me differently. And many of the major news outlets, like the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, they reported, like, I was going to be the richest person to ever to go to US prison. And that doesn’t help me, right? So at the time, my consultants, my lawyers were like, ‘You are probably a primary target for extortion.’ So that psychological uncertainty was actually much, much heavier to deal with than the physical aspects.”
On how he will spend his next 25 years:
“I think investing in impactful founders, like with world-changing technologies. So many of our investments will fail, but hopefully we’ll invest in a few of those that will be extremely successful. And then the free education platform. I work on Gig Academy. I think education is very fundamental. Gig Academy has 500,000 kids registered now. At the beginning of the year, six months ago, it was only 100,000 … And then I also advise a few governments on their crypto regulatory policies.”
Brian Sozzi is Yahoo Finance’s Executive Editor and a member of Yahoo Finance’s editorial leadership team. Follow Sozzi on X @BrianSozzi, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Tips on stories? Email brian.sozzi@yahoofinance.com.
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