"Money Freedom" Released: Unveiling Eight Turning Points that Influenced China

Tao Zhu, Jinse Finance

Summary

On April 8, 2026, Binance founder CZ posted on social media that his autobiographical memoir, *Freedom of Money*, has been released for sale in some countries. The first draft of the book was written in prison using a broken laptop, taking more than four months, and the overall editing time was even longer, nearly half a year.

I. Introduction to the Main Contents of *Money Freedom*

Amazon provides a complete description of the autobiographical memoir on the product page:

In *Money Freedom*, Changpeng Zhao (CZ)—a well-known entrepreneur—tells his extraordinary life story in a style that combines memoir and manifesto: from his childhood in rural China, living in a mud-brick house without running water, to immigrating to Canada in his teens, to co-founding Binance with several friends in 2017, growing it from a small company into a platform with 300 million users, and ultimately becoming the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, with a projected valuation of $100 billion by 2026.

This book takes readers deep into the behind-the-scenes story of the explosive growth of cryptocurrencies, documenting the high-risk challenges CZ faced as the industry grappled with volatility, scandals, and increasing geopolitical pressures. CZ recounts, from a first-person perspective, the key decisions and guiding principles that propelled Binance to surpass its competitors.

He also shared his unique insights on attracting top talent, fostering high employee engagement, and driving continuous innovation, emphasizing the importance of transparency and prioritizing customer interests, especially in a market many believe is saturated. He provided an in-depth analysis of how Binance and the cryptocurrency industry operate, sharing his views on the crucial role cryptocurrencies play in expanding global financial services coverage, particularly for people in many developing countries who lack access to traditional banking services. He addressed various controversies—including the collapse of FTX and its co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried, and the increasing politicization of industry regulatory scrutiny—openly recounting how he was investigated by the U.S. Department of Justice, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and other U.S. federal regulators. In early 2023, he was accused of Binance violating the Bank Secrecy Act, specifically for failing to complete necessary paperwork when initially allowing U.S. users to use its platform, and for questioning the validity of one of Binance's compliance programs under U.S. law. This often overlooks the fact that Binance did not actually operate within the U.S. at the time, while other countries argued that the U.S. attempt to regulate the activities of non-U.S. citizens overseas, such as in the cryptocurrency sector, violated international law. No charges of fraud or money laundering were brought. His lawyer assured him that no one had previously been criminally prosecuted for violating the law and that he would not be imprisoned, so he voluntarily flew to the United States to plead guilty. Binance ultimately paid a $4.3 billion fine, and Zhao Changpeng was personally fined $150 million and sentenced to four months in prison, where most of this book was written. After his release, he was detained by the Department of Homeland Security for overstaying his visa, even though he had been ordered to remain in the United States despite his objections, and was also imprisoned. His experience is both shocking and fascinating… II. Eight Turning Points that Influenced CZ's Life 1. Owning an x286 Computer at Age 13 When I was thirteen, my father took me to a computer store and spent seven thousand Canadian dollars on an x286 computer. This was equivalent to seven months of his income. Looking back now, my father was very good at planning his spending. That was the most expensive computer my father and I ever bought in our lives, but looking back now, it was definitely worth it. Without that computer, I might not be who I am today. CZ switched from biology to computer science in college. Data insertion, sorting, search algorithms, efficiency analysis, etc., helped CZ better understand engineers and laid the groundwork for his later career success. 2. Leaving Bloomberg and Returning to Shanghai On November 6, 2005, after four years at Bloomberg and receiving my year-end bonus, I officially left the company. That year, my bonus was a whopping $140,000, bringing my total income to $390,000. In 2005, this was a huge sum for a 28-year-old. On November 20, 2005, I arrived in Shanghai, ready to establish a financial technology company with five foreigners. (Fuxun Shanghai) Upon returning to Shanghai, CZ hoped to develop a trading system for the Chinese financial market with the foreigners and sell it to local securities firms, but was rejected by both Chinese securities firms and the Shanghai Stock Exchange. Therefore, the company transformed into a comprehensive IT service provider, serving companies such as Shanghai General Motors, Shanghai Volkswagen, and Shanghai FAW. After the business stabilized, branches were established in Hong Kong, Tokyo, and San Francisco. In overseas markets, we returned to our core business of developing low-latency trading systems for securities firms. This development experience laid a solid foundation for our subsequent foray into the cryptocurrency exchange field. 3. Selling the House to Buy Cryptocurrency In 2007, I scraped together my last savings and bought a three-bedroom apartment in Pudong, Shanghai. The 150-square-meter apartment required not only using up all my savings for the down payment, but also borrowing money from relatives and taking out a loan. That apartment held so many memories: teaching the kids to rollerblade, learning to swim, throwing birthday parties. From an investment perspective, the apartment doubled in value in five years, which was indeed a great deal. But then I encountered Bitcoin, this "thoroughbred," and decisively sold the apartment and invested all my money in it. In December 2013, I officially left Fuxun and started selling my house in Pudong. At this time, the price of Bitcoin had soared to $1000, more than ten times higher than when I had dinner with Li Qiyuan. The problem was: I hadn't really started buying Bitcoin yet. I had only bought a small amount tentatively, far from the "10% asset allocation" he suggested. In February 2014, Mt. Gox collapsed, and Bitcoin plummeted to $200, remaining at this low level for a year and a half. The money I had just earned from selling my house had shrunk by two-thirds. Buying Bitcoin launched CZ's legendary Binance career. After leaving Fuxun, CZ began to seriously seek opportunities in the Bitcoin industry. Having experienced KNC mining machines, ventured into the Bitcoin ATM market, and declined an invitation from BTCChina, CZ ultimately chose to join Blockchain Info—a company that became a leader in Bitcoin browser and wallet services even before obtaining a business license. He subsequently joined OKCoin at the invitation of He Yi and worked as an exchange system supplier. 4. The Ban on Stamp and Coin Trading Platforms and the Rise of Binance Around April 2015, Yang Linke, co-founder of BTCChina, contacted me from Shanghai, saying he wanted to create a stamp and coin trading platform specializing in trading stamps, physical coins, and collectible cards. At that time, stamps and coins were booming in China, with the largest platform exceeding $200 million in daily trading volume—a new trend. Between 2015 and 2017, we signed contracts with over 30 exchange clients. Each paid monthly service fees, and business was stable and thriving. However, in March 2017, the Chinese government issued a ban requiring the closure of all stamp and coin exchanges. In March, we signed six new clients; by April, we hadn't signed any more; and by May, most of our existing clients had stopped paying, plunging our business into crisis. After the stamp and coin ban, CZ officially began its journey in the cryptocurrency exchange market. Ultimately, this led to the creation of Binance, a landmark super platform. On June 1, 2017, Yang Linke introduced the concept of ICOs to CZ. On June 17, the CZ team completed the first draft of the ICO white paper in both Chinese and English. On June 23, the first round of ICOs began, and the servers crashed instantly.

Even after the successful ICO, when the price of BNB plummeted by 60%, He Yi still chose to join Binance.

On July 14th, Binance launched as scheduled.

On August 8th, Binance announced that He Yi had officially joined the team. The price of BNB quickly stopped falling and rebounded, and the following morning it rebounded strongly by 40% from its low point, returning above the issue price. On August 29th, BNB reached a high of $2.9, 29 times the ICO price.

5. China Ban

On Sunday, September 3rd, 2017, as usual, we were busy in the office all day, not leaving until around 11 pm. On my way home, I heard rumors that there would be a "major crackdown" the next day. He Yi had just left the office and called me in the middle of the night, also confirming the rumors of a crackdown through different channels.

At 12:30 AM, we convened a conference call with the core team. After reviewing information from all parties, we decided that He Yi, Heina, and I would go abroad first, while the rest of us would remain in Shanghai temporarily. The Chinese ban launched Binance's overseas expansion, laying the foundation for its growth into a vast crypto empire spanning Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas in the following years. After the domestic ban was issued, CZ decided to move the entire team to Tokyo. By the end of September 2017, Binance was already among the top ten exchanges globally. On December 17th of the same year, Binance became the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange. On March 23, 2018, Binance received a warning from the Japanese Financial Services Agency: Binance did not have an operating license in Japan. Ironically, two hours after receiving the warning, the Prime Minister of Malta tweeted: Welcome Binance to Malta. Afterwards, CZ promoted cryptocurrency in Togo, Uganda, Bermuda, Liechtenstein, and other places. 6. Dubai Visa I arrived in Dubai on the evening of Friday, September 30, 2021. A meeting was scheduled that day for me to meet with His Excellency Omar Sultan Al Olama, Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Economy of the UAE. In Islamic culture, Friday and Saturday are the weekend. Therefore, I greatly admired the Minister's dedication in taking time out of his busy schedule to meet with me on a Friday evening. That same day, he offered to help me apply for a Dubai Golden Visa. From then on, CZ could freely enter and leave the UAE. In March 2022, Binance received in-principle approval for its exchange registration in the UAE, marking the first step towards obtaining a license. That same month, Binance also obtained an exchange license in Bahrain. On December 8, 2025, Binance announced that it had received full regulatory approval from the Abu Dhabi Global Markets (ADGM) Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA), meaning its global platform would officially operate under ADGM's international regulatory framework. 7. FTX Bankruptcy On November 2, 2022, CoinDesk reported that FTX might go bankrupt, causing market panic and a drop in FTT prices. SBF messaged me: "Has our relationship deteriorated to the point where we don't even talk anymore?" I said we could talk. He called, speaking in circles, stammering that he needed "several billion dollars." He went on and on for a long time, finally saying that FTX had a "liquidity crisis" and was willing to sell the entire company to Binance. After FTX's bankruptcy, the Binance team created 100% proof of reserves. In December of that year, users began withdrawing funds from Binance, recording a net withdrawal of $1 billion on December 10th and $7 billion on the 14th. In just one week, $14 billion in assets were withdrawn, and Binance withstood this massive run. This demonstrated Binance's strength to everyone and enhanced user trust.

8. Binance Sued by the US SEC

On February 13, 2023, the US SEC sued Binance, arguing that BUSD was a security.

On June 5, 2023, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of the Biden administration sued Binance's main website, Binance US, and myself. They listed 13 charges at once, claiming that BNB, BUSD, wealth management, BNB Vault, and staking were all securities, and also accused Binance US of misappropriating customer funds like FTX. This is pure nonsense; they sued without any evidence.

Exactly two years later, on May 30, 2025, the SEC withdrew all previous charges, noting "with prejudice".

In other words, the SEC cannot sue Binance and myself again on the same grounds because the original allegations have been proven unfounded. Although the lawsuit was withdrawn two years later, our business and users suffered huge losses during those two years. Back in 2023, on June 6th, the day after they filed the lawsuit, the SEC applied to the court for a temporary injunction to freeze all assets of Binance US and myself, citing the need to protect users. But in reality, once frozen, all users' money would be inaccessible for several years, which would truly harm the users. And they didn't care at all. We disagree with these allegations. Their goal is clear: to kill Binance US. This lawsuit dealt a huge blow to Binance's US and global operations. Banks ceased cooperation with Binance. Binance's US trading volume plummeted from 35% of Coinbase's global trading volume (about half of its US trading volume) to 1% within a month, and it hasn't recovered to this day (2026). Binance's US staff dwindled from 500 to 50. Later, on November 20, 2023, CZ flew to the US to plead guilty, resigned as Binance CEO, paid a $150 million fine, and served four months in federal prison; Binance paid a $4.3 billion fine and accepted three years of independent oversight. Following this, CZ considered what would have the greatest positive impact. Ultimately, he decided to create a free, globally accessible education platform. During his four months incarcerated, CZ received three detention warrants from ICE. During the final 14 days, my visa expired because I was serving my sentence in the United States. ICE rejected my extension application after three months. On the day of my release, it only took 26 minutes from leaving the detention center to the plane taking off. Only after flying out of US airspace did CZ finally relax a little. The plane eventually landed in the UAE. This was the first time in 11 months that I had truly gained freedom. The moment I hugged my children and family again, I felt true happiness. What I truly missed were people. I missed my family and friends. I realized that the people around me are the most important. Now I'm free, and I won't miss them again. On May 29, 2025, the U.S. SEC officially dropped all lawsuits against Binance Global, Binance US, and myself. This ended years of hostile regulation during the Gary Gensler era. The SEC's lawsuits, initially numbering 13 two years ago, included fraud charges, securities violations, and a temporary injunction freezing assets. Later, the charges were reduced to only eight tokens related to securities, then to only BNB being classified as a security, until finally, all were dropped. Conclusion From rural China to CEO of the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange; from pleading guilty and serving time in the US to writing a memoir behind bars, CZ's life seems to have no upper limit and no end. *Money Freedom* is not only a personal retrospective, but also a true record of the boundaries between the times, technology, and power. On one hand, there is the extreme freedom of the crypto world; on the other hand, there is the ruthless pressure from central power. CZ was once "guilty," and then "innocent." Freedom and wealth can be illusions, but the beliefs one upholds are the true assets that cannot be taken away.