Written by: Techub News Compilation
Introduction
In January 2026, the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, welcomed a special attendee—Zhao Changpeng (CZ), the founder and former CEO of Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange. The background of this appearance is unusual: it has been over a year since he pleaded guilty to violating the U.S. Bank Secrecy Act and served a four-month sentence. More importantly, just three months ago (October 2025), he received a full pardon from then-U.S. President Donald Trump. This interview, following a series of legal turmoil and identity changes, marks CZ's first in-depth media engagement at such a high-profile international venue, where his candid sharing about personal experiences, the future of the industry, and the trajectory of Binance provides valuable firsthand insights for the public to understand the current state and journey of this cryptocurrency titan.
Summary
- Life in prison was not as dramatic as in movies, but "definitely not pleasant", as CZ provides a detailed account for the first time about the procedures he encountered on his first day in prison and the situation of his cellmate.
- Firmly denies any special business ties with the Trump family, addressing speculation that Binance engaged in interest exchanges with Trump's family’s crypto enterprises for his pardon.
- Predicts that Bitcoin may break the four-year cycle in 2026, ushering in a "super cycle", based on shifts in U.S. policies and overall improvements in the global regulatory environment.
- Clearly states he will not return to Binance’s management, believing the company has a strong team and he prefers to focus on educational projects like Giggle Academy, investments, and global cryptocurrency regulatory consulting.
- If given a second chance, he would block U.S. users from the start, admitting that a lack of understanding of relevant regulations early on led to subsequent troubles.
After the Pardon: From "Convicted Free Man" to "True Free Man"
When asked about life after receiving the pardon over the past three months, Zhao Changpeng (CZ) described it as "more free, more liberated." He admitted that although he was legally free before, the identity of a "felon" always felt like a psychological burden. Now that the pardon has been issued, "that burden seems to have been lifted," and he feels like a "true free man."
However, freedom does not mean idleness. Instead, CZ's schedule has become busier. He revealed that he is currently focusing on several areas: firstly, the free education platform Giggle Academy, which he is passionately promoting; secondly, collaborating with an investment team called Easy Labs; and thirdly, supporting multiple projects within the Binance Smart Chain (BSC) ecosystem as a minority investor and mentor. Additionally, he spends a significant amount of time engaging with governments from about a dozen countries, providing consulting on how to regulate cryptocurrencies, tokenize assets, and develop stablecoins. These activities outline a clear shift in CZ's personal career focus from operating a single exchange to broader fields of education, investment, and industry infrastructure.
Unavoidably, whether in private conversations or formal interviews, the topics of "prison experience" and "pardon process" are always starting points. CZ remains open about it but points out that most people start with small talk, as directly diving into this topic might offend those with similar experiences. However, he does not shy away from reflecting on that "not very interesting" period. He mentioned that the portrayal of prison in movies is "quite accurate" and he will detail it in an upcoming book. The first detail he revealed was striking: his first cellmate was a dual murderer who had already served 12 years and still had 18 years left to serve, but was later moved to a low-security prison. "He was a good guy," CZ added, but this does not change the overall fact that prison "was not a good experience."
Regarding his imprisonment, CZ stated it was completely unexpected. He recalled that his legal team assessed based on historical cases that no one in the U.S. had ever been imprisoned for a single violation of the Bank Secrecy Act (a failure to register charge); the harshest penalty had been home confinement for six months, like BitMEX founder Arthur Hayes. CZ thought he would face at most a similar penalty and had prepared to work from home on a computer. However, the final judgment was four months in prison. He described his first day in prison as "quite brutal," including standard procedures such as full body searches. When discussing how he coped, CZ said he generally remained emotionally stable, thinking at the time, "It's only four months; just get through it."
As for the critical pardon process, CZ admitted he still does not fully understand how it worked. He revealed that the idea of a pardon did not originally come from him, but rather around March 2025, when mainstream media like The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, and The New York Times began discussing the possibility of his pardon, he realized he could possibly try for it. Consequently, he had his lawyers submit a petition and then entered a "black box," remaining completely unaware of the subsequent developments. Despite widespread speculation about various behind-the-scenes lobbying (such as through members of the Trump family), CZ denied knowing any such effective operations. Many advised him to meet with President Trump directly, as the latter often acted on intuition, but CZ never had that opportunity. Ultimately, the pardon arrived suddenly during the wait. On the day of the interview in Davos, he was only seated in the audience about 30–40 feet away while Trump participated in a meeting, without any direct conversation. CZ expressed that if given the chance, he would most want to thank Trump in person.
Clarifying Connections: Binance, the Trump Family, and the Pardon Incident
The pardon event has sparked widespread speculation about the relationship between Zhao Changpeng (CZ), Binance, and the Trump family. The interviewer directly raised this question. CZ's response was very clear: to his knowledge, "there's really no connection." He believes the only link is that the Trump family is involved in cryptocurrency, while Binance is a major player in the crypto space, and the Trump administration holds a supportive stance towards cryptocurrencies—which benefits the entire industry and Binance’s business, and that’s all.
When the interviewer mentioned specific doubts, such as "World Liberty Financial" and its stablecoin USD1, along with its investment in Binance interpreted by outsiders as a vested interest tie, CZ elaborated on the commercial nature of that transaction.
He emphasized that it was a purely investment transaction: MGX invested $2 billion worth of equivalent cryptocurrency into Binance. As the exchange receiving the investment, CZ's request was "payment in cryptocurrency" to avoid dealing with traditional banks. MGX proposed payment in stablecoins, to which CZ agreed. MGX chose the USD1 stablecoin, and CZ accepted USD1 simply because it was a "legitimate stablecoin with good banking support." He stressed that it was merely a choice of payment method. Binance did not hold onto these $2 billion USD1 for long and gradually exchanged them afterward. Much of the media's erroneous reporting on this matter misconstrued it as "Binance invested $2 billion in USD1 or World Liberty Financial." CZ clarified with an analogy: if he accepts a $100 payment, that does not mean he invested in the entity that issued the dollar. Stablecoins are just a payment currency; accepting them does not equal investing in their issuer. Therefore, he firmly denied any special business relationships with Trump family enterprises.
The conversation turned to another high-profile case—FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF). When asked if SBF should also be pardoned, CZ responded cautiously, stating he is neither a lawyer nor a judge and should not comment, leaving such decisions to the legal system. He recounted his limited interactions with SBF: before the FTX crisis broke out, SBF had called CZ expressing interest in having Binance fully acquire FTX. The two sides signed a Letter of Intent (LOI), but then FTX's legal advisor withdrew from the communication group. Within 24 hours, CZ's team decided to walk away because they found it impossible to trust the data provided in each other’s data room; the lack of a basic trust foundation made the deal unfeasible. CZ denied having prior knowledge of FTX's balance sheet issues or involving himself in any revelations, stressing that before FTX's bankruptcy, despite Binance being one of FTX's shareholders, he never requested or reviewed FTX's financial statements and was completely unaware of its financial condition before reports from Coindesk emerged.
Looking Ahead: Role Changes, Industry Competition, and Market Predictions
With his personal legal restrictions lifted, the public is naturally concerned about Zhao Changpeng (CZ)'s future role at Binance. He remains a major shareholder of Binance but clarified that the public assertion of his 90% ownership is "incorrect," as the specific ratio is complicated by different legal entities. As for returning to management, CZ gave a definite negative answer. He believes that although leaving was very painful initially, the company’s market share has continued to grow under new management over the past two years, proving that the team is strong enough and does not need a "driver in the back seat." He is now a relatively passive shareholder, occasionally offering suggestions on Twitter.
Regarding the possibility of Binance returning to the U.S. market, CZ pointed out that Binance U.S. has always existed as an independent entity and has not disappeared, but its operations have significantly shrunk due to litigation from the SEC (U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission). With the related lawsuits against him and Binance U.S. being dismissed by the SEC (in a "biased" manner, meaning they cannot be re-filed) and banking channels being resumed, he believes Binance U.S. hopes and can become an active trading platform again. He specifically mentioned that Binance U.S. has a significant fee advantage, with costs much lower than other platforms in the U.S., allowing it to offer lower trading fees.
Discussing his relationship with competitor Coinbase and its CEO Brian Armstrong, CZ displayed an open attitude. He believes that the crypto space can accommodate multiple exchanges, and having only one dominant player is harmful to the industry. Competition helps lower prices and improve services, while the current potential of the industry has not yet been fully tapped. He humbly stated that he does not understand U.S. politics and regulatory dynamics well; Coinbase has taken on an important responsibility in advocating favorable legislation for the industry, representing the interests of the entire industry (not just U.S. companies), and he welcomes that. CZ positions his work focus on engaging and collaborating with dozens of governments outside the United States.
In terms of personal investments, CZ admitted he does not engage in trading at all. "I don't day trade, I don't buy and sell, and I don't try to time the market. I'm not good at it." He recalled that he lost money trying to trade two or three decades ago, thus recognizing that he is better suited as a system builder (developer). He currently just holds Bitcoin and BNB for the long term.
However, as an industry leader, his opinions on market trends are closely watched. When asked about Bitcoin's price and cycles, CZ first emphasized the importance of the time frame: predicting daily or tomorrow's movements is impossible, but when extending to 5-10 years, the upward trend is easily discernible. For the most common one-year frame (i.e., 2026), he provided a strong expectation: "I have a very strong feeling that we may welcome a super cycle."
He explained that historically, Bitcoin follows a four-year cycle, hitting new highs and then retreating every four years. But in 2026, given that the U.S. turns to strongly support cryptocurrency, with other countries following suit, he believes this time it is likely to break the four-year cycle pattern. This prediction of a "super cycle" is built on the logic that a shift in U.S. policy could lead to global regulatory improvements, thus attracting large-scale capital inflows.
Reflection and Future Outlook: If Given a Second Chance
At the end of the interview, when asked what he would change if he could go back, Zhao Changpeng (CZ) answered without hesitation: "I would block U.S. users from day one." He explained that in the early days of starting up in Shanghai, China, as a small tech startup, they attracted U.S. users, but only six years later did they discover it violated the Bank Secrecy Act. Had they been aware of the regulatory risks back then and blocked U.S. users directly, many subsequent troubles could have been avoided. This brief and direct response encapsulates the core lesson this crypto pioneer learned after bearing significant costs over the past few years, and it marks a reflective conclusion to his tumultuous chapter. Now, returning to the center stage of the world with a new identity and mindset, CZ is focusing on broader education, industry infrastructure, and global collaboration, and his next steps will continue to profoundly influence the evolution of the cryptocurrency world.
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