Changpeng Zha2026-09-30 23:59:35CZ revisits FTX, Hyperliquid and the 10/10 sell-off, saying crypto is still far from saturatedBinance founder Changpeng Zhao, better known as CZ, used a Sept. 25 interview on the When Shift Happens Podcast to revisit the arc of his career, from growing up in a low-income immigrant family in Canada to building Binance out of an existing exchange-tech team in 2017. He said Binance’s early rise came from execution, team alignment and a focus on user protection, while arguing that crypto adoption remains low both by user count and by share of global wealth. In the interview, CZ also addressed why most listed projects eventually disappoint investors, why he does not agree with the logic of restricting early-stage investing to so-called qualified investors, and how his 「4」 meme emerged from a 2023 post about ignoring FUD. A large part of the conversation focused on crisis moments. CZ rejected the claim that his Nov. 6, 2022 tweet 「killed」 FTX, saying no real company can be destroyed by a single tweet from a rival and describing the post as a public disclosure tied to Binance’s plan to sell remaining FTT received in its exit from an FTX equity investment. He also discussed the pressure of BNB trading below its ICO price shortly after launch, his U.S. legal case, his concern while entering prison that additional charges could keep coming, and the process that led to his presidential pardon. On market structure, he said Hyperliquid is not Binance’s enemy, called for more exchanges and perp DEX competition, and said HYPE may have faced listing constraints because Binance generally wants to directly control and custody listed assets. He also pushed back on claims that Binance caused the Oct. 10, 2025 market crash, saying the sell-off began after tariff news and before Binance’s issue involving Ethena’s USDe. CZ said he now spends more time on regulatory discussions with governments, investing through YZi Labs and building Giggle Academy, which he described as a fast-growing free education project for children.90
CZ2026-09-28 13:36:00CZ says his tweet did not sink FTX and that he had zero contact with Trump during pardon processBinance founder Changpeng Zhao, better known as CZ, used a long-form appearance on the When Shift Happens podcast to revisit several of the biggest controversies tied to his career: Binance’s early rise, the collapse of FTX, his prison sentence in the United States, the presidential pardon he received in 2025, the exchange’s handling of security incidents, and his current views on decentralized exchanges, Hyperliquid, regulation, and education. Zhao rejected the claim that a Binance tweet caused FTX to fail, arguing that no real company can be destroyed by a rival’s single post and pointing instead to the alleged misuse of customer funds and a Coindesk report published days earlier. He also said he served four months over a Bank Secrecy Act violation and described the case as highly unusual, adding that he never met, called, or emailed Donald Trump at any point in the pardon process. Zhao further said Binance compensated users after the October 10, 2025 market shock despite having no obligation to do so, defended his long-standing bullish posting habits, and said much of his time now goes to crypto regulatory discussions and Giggle Academy, which he said had grown from about 100,000 children reached at the start of 2026 to about 1.3 million in less than seven months.410
CZ2026-09-28 08:30:59CZ revisits FTX, prison, pardon and Hyperliquid rivalry in wide-ranging podcast interviewBinance founder Changpeng Zhao, better known as CZ, used a long-form podcast interview released on Sept. 25, 2026 to revisit several of the most disputed episodes of his career: Binance’s early rise, the tweet tied to FTX’s collapse, his four-month prison sentence, the 2025 presidential pardon he received, the Oct. 10, 2025 market crash, and the competitive debate around Hyperliquid and decentralized exchanges. CZ rejected the claim that a single Binance tweet brought down FTX, saying the exchange failed because it misused customer funds and had likely already become insolvent before his post, citing a CoinDesk report published days earlier. He also said Binance had received about $2.1 billion in cash, BUSD and FTT when it exited its FTX equity position. On regulation and enforcement, CZ said he had never met or spoken with Donald Trump and described his pardon process as one handled through lawyers, with a petition filed in April 2025. He also defended Binance’s response to the Oct. 10 selloff, saying the exchange was not the cause of the broader collapse and that Binance paid about $800 million to compensate affected users despite having no obligation to do so. On competition, CZ said crypto remains far from saturated, arguing that penetration is still below 1% when measured against net assets. He said he welcomes Hyperliquid and other DEXs if they help expand the market.260
CZ2026-09-09 03:01:00Giggle Academy serves more than 1.5 million children for free, with CZ funding about $5 million a yearGiggle Academy, a free children’s education platform founded by Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, or CZ, has reached more than 1.5 million children worldwide since launching in March 2024. The platform serves children aged 2 to 8 with no-cost, ad-free content, including gamified English learning and picture-book courses. CZ said he personally contributes about $5 million a year to support the project, which works out to roughly $3 per enrolled child based on its current scale. Giggle Academy says its long-term goal is to reach 10 million or more children. For now, operations are funded through CZ’s personal support and donations from the community. The item was carried by PANews as a market information update and did not include investment advice.750
Changpeng Zha2026-08-25 13:00:00CZ says most people should DCA into major crypto instead of going all-inBinance founder Changpeng Zhao said he would not tell people to repeat his 2014 decision to sell an apartment and put everything into Bitcoin if that property represents most of their wealth. In a community Q&A at Binance Clubhouse Bali 2026, Zhao said most people are better served by dollar-cost averaging 1%, 5%, or 10% of monthly income into major crypto assets they trust. The discussion also covered his changed views on NFTs, meme coins, and real-world assets, his belief that the four-year cycle still looks intact, and his view that the next major catalyst cannot be called in advance. Zhao also spoke at length about AI, saying blockchain-based payment rails are a better fit for AI agents than credit cards because they are programmable, borderless, and less dependent on human verification steps. He added that Giggle Academy, which he said now serves more than 1 million children, found that fully AI-driven teaching does not work well for kids ages 2 to 6, leading the team to keep humans in charge while using AI to generate content components.1000
CZ2026-08-23 10:45:39CZ says Giggle’s second-largest anonymous donor came from his previously public addressBinance founder Changpeng Zhao, better known as CZ, said on Aug. 23 that the second-largest "anonymous" donor on Giggle Academy’s onchain donation leaderboard was actually linked to his previously disclosed public address. He made the comment while reposting a screenshot of the ranking and thanked everyone who contributed to the effort. CZ had earlier said on Aug. 16 on Binance Square that the BNB held in that public address, along with the "Binance Life" tokens purchased with BNB, would be donated to Giggle Academy. He also said he would stop using that address afterward and turn it into a burn address, aiming to avoid having the community over-interpret activity tied to a publicly known wallet. The update clarifies the source behind one of the largest donations shown as anonymous on the leaderboard and links it back to CZ’s earlier pledge involving assets from the address he had already identified publicly.1180
Binance Life2026-08-16 14:49:08Binance Life token jumps 8% and briefly tops $0.54 after CZ says he donated and stopped using public addressAccording to HTX market data cited by BlockBeats on Aug. 16, the Binance Life token posted a short-term jump after Changpeng Zhao, known as CZ, said he had donated the Binance Life holdings in his public address to Giggle Academy and had stopped using that address. Following that disclosure, the token rose 8% in a brief move and broke above $0.54. It later traded at $0.51 at the time of the report, with its 24-hour gain standing at 8.2%. The move was reported as a market reaction tied to CZ’s announcement and the status change of the address mentioned in the update.1100
Changpeng Zha2026-08-16 14:42:09CZ says he will stop using wallet address after meme token transfers trigger speculationBinance founder Changpeng Zhao said community members were overinterpreting activity tied to one of his wallet addresses after he tried to burn some meme tokens while testing Trust Wallet. In a post on Binance Square, Zhao said the wallet had become so crowded with meme tokens that even finding BNB was difficult, prompting him to remove some of the tokens. That action, he said, quickly drew discussion from the community. Zhao said he then realized the address could never really be cleaned up because more users would keep sending tokens to it each time he burned some. He added that blockchain transparency means any action involving the address is likely to be scrutinized and read into by others. Zhao also said he had considered asking the Trust Wallet team to build an "Ignore Coin" feature to keep the interface from being flooded, but said such a tool would be unnecessary for 99.99% of users. He said the plan now is to donate the BNB in the wallet, along with the "Binance Life" token bought with BNB, to Giggle Academy. After that, he will stop using the address and let it become a burn address.1140
