Binance ex-CEO and co-founder Changpeng Zhao, popularly known as CZ, has ruled out a comeback to the exchange. During an interview with CNBC, he said that despite being pardoned by US President Donald Trump, essentially removing all court restrictions on him, he doesn’t need to return to Binance as he believes “strong leaders” are already at the helm to help the exchange grow.
CZ has admitted that it was a painful move to step down from his Binance CEO role about two years ago after he was charged by US authorities, but he eventually got used to it.
Why Did CZ Step Down?
In November 2023, Zhao was found guilty of failing to adopt an effective Anti-Money Laundering (AML) policy at Binance. To settle the charges, he agreed to stop working at his crypto exchange and served a four-month prison sentence. Additionally, CZ paid $50 million in penalty fees, with Binance agreeing to pay fines of approximately $4.3 billion.
Last October, Trump granted CZ a presidential pardon, attracting scrunity from numerous American policymakers, who argued that the Binance co-founder was pardoned due to his exchange’s close affiliations with Trump-linked cryptocurrency projects. However, Trump dismissed the claims and denied knowing CZ.
How is Binance Performing Without CZ?
Binance has continued to post strong performance even without Zhao in its leadership hierarchy. In December, the two CEOs of the exchange, Yi He and Richard Teng, published an open letter that showed multiple growth metrics.
The data in the letter indicated that Binance’s user base crossed 300 million, while annual trading volume reached $34.1 trillion in 2025.
Bitcoin Supercycle is Coming, Claims CZ
Although crypto market sentiment and prices have seen massive declines in the first month of 2026, CZ is optimistic that a Bitcoin supercycle could occur over the next 11 months. According to him, the traditional four-year Bitcoin cycle is likely dead. He claims that institutional adoption and the introduction of clear regulations are the new primary drivers of crypto markets. CZ also anticipates that some countries, including the United States, may soon establish a Bitcoin reserve, boosting the legitimacy status of the cryptoasset among investors.
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