Which cryptocurrency exchange startup was founded by Changpeng Zhao? Binance was founded by Changpeng Zhao.
Changpeng Zhao, widely known as CZ, co-founded Binance in 2017 with Yi He. The exchange launched during the early boom in cryptocurrency trading and raised about $15 million through an initial coin offering that year. Trading began only 11 days after the platform’s launch.
Zhao brought substantial technical and cryptocurrency experience to the project. Before Binance, he founded the high-frequency trading software company Fusion Systems, worked on the Blockchain.info team, and served as chief technology officer of OKCoin. Binance initially operated from China before moving its operations as Chinese regulators tightened restrictions on cryptocurrency trading.
The main potential mix-up is that Zhao is associated with several crypto businesses, including Blockchain.com and OKCoin. However, the exchange he co-founded is Binance. Binance Coin, later called BNB, is a related token launched by the company, not a separate exchange competing with it.