Welcome to the Cryptohunt Jam, where we spend one minute a day explaining crypto. In plain English.

Changpeng Zhao, in crypto circles also known as CZ, has been making the news lately. He is the founder and CEO of Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange. But there is much more to him and you should definitely know about him!

CZ was born in China, but his parents - both academics -  got in trouble with the government for voicing their opinions. Quickly, the family emigrated to Canada, where CZ went to school and university. He became a computer scientist and started working on stock exchanges for Bloomberg.

Eventually though, he found his way back into China, and started working in the crypto space. He got so fascinated by it in fact, that in 2015, he sold his apartment in Shanghai and put everything into Bitcoin. Way back then, he already showed his knack for timing trends well.

Not much later, in 2017, CZ founded Binance, which quickly became a household name in crypto trading. What did he seemingly do better than anyone else? Work with or around regulations, which allowed him to expand quickly. He also understood the power of building up others around him - and so he launched the Binance Coin, which became its own blockchain quickly. Thousands of projects build on it today.

At the same time he started Binance, he also rose to Twitter fame and has since become one of the most prolific crypto evangelist out there, never shy to criticize what he doesn’t agree with. Fast forward to a few weeks ago, and he did exactly that, but with extreme consequences: When he called out the house of cards that FTX and sister company Alameda Research had built. He even put in an offer to save FTX, but quickly withdrew it realizing the troubles ran really deep.

Compared to Sam Bankman-Fried, FTX’s larger-than-life, now former CEO, Changpeng Zhao was always the quieter, less in-your-face voice of crypto… and in the end that prevailed. And although crypto isn’t doing too hot in the markets right now, his share still puts him among the richest people in the world.

Not a bad move, selling his apartment for Bitcoin, don’t you think? And now you know who CZ is, because he will certainly make waves again.

This podcast is produced by Cryptohunt.it, the easiest place to learn crypto. Copywriting is done by Arndt Voges, Social Media is done by Brett Holleman, design is done by Carmen Rincon, and my name is Christian Byza, Co-Founder of Cryptohunt and I am your host of this daily show.

Disclaimer: This podcast references our opinion and is for information purposes only. It is not intended to be investment advice. Do your own research and seek a duly licensed professional for investment advice.