After resigning as CEO of Binance in 2023 and serving a short prison sentence for violating the federal Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) in the US, Changpeng “CZ” Zhao remains one of the most followed figures in the world of cryptocurrencies.
This feature is part of CoinDesk List of the most influential of 2025.
His formal departure from the exchange he built did little to dim his prominence. In any case, CZ’s influence did not become stronger until 2025, after US President Donald Trump granted him clemency.
CZ wrote that he was “deeply grateful” for the pardon and “to President Trump for upholding America’s commitment to equity, innovation and justice.”
In a comical turn of events, Trump later claimed he “didn’t know” who Zhao was before adding that she was a “victim of government gunplay.”
This subtle probing did not stop Zhao from his prolific use of social media, where he continues to comment on industry trends and the future of global cryptocurrency adoption. He even did something a little out of character, publicly revealing that he had a $1.8 million position in ASTER, the native token of a derivatives exchange hosted on the BNB Chain. His word carried weight, with ASTER rising from $0.90 to $1.08 shortly after the tweet.
In 2025, CZ also took a “more active role” in investment activities within YZi Labs, the venture capital arm of Binance that was previously called Binance Labs. Earlier this year it was reported that YZi Labs managed around $10 billion in capital, including investments in more than 250 companies.
