When Changpeng Zhao (CZ) pleaded guilty to a federal crime in 2023, he agreed to step down as CEO of Binance. He also agreed to refrain from participating in Binance global management during a three-year government monitorship.
However, despite this, his influence over the world’s largest crypto exchange is as obvious today as it ever was. Today, Binance appointed the mother of his children and the namesake of his family office, Yi He, as co-CEO.
CZ co-manages the assets of his family office, YZi Labs, with Yi He. YZi is a stylized combination of “Yi,” her given or “first” name, enclosing the first character of CZ’s family or “last” name, Zhao.
Although CZ isn’t working at Binance in an executive capacity, he’s its founder, he tags @Binance in his social media profile, and has the word Binance in his username.
Many users on social media view him as synonymous with the company, regularly interchanging Binance and CZ when referring to actions of either agent.
With the mother of his children now installed as co-CEO, his de facto influence over Binance is blatant. All along, his power was apparent from his equity alone.
Indeed, Bloomberg estimates that he owns a dominant 90% stake in the company in addition to an 86% stake in its US subsidiary, Binance.US.
Read more: With fresh pardon, CZ owns Donald Trump
And anyway, CZ received a pardon
After receiving a highly contentious presidential pardon, the enforceability of CZ’s agreement to refrain from Binance management is unclear. Due to his pardon, his federal criminal conviction is erased and all civil rights affected by his felony conviction at the federal level are restored.
It’s unclear whether the pardon nullifies his agreement to refrain from executive leadership.
Some legal commentators have argued that the pardon could undercut the abilities of the Department of Justice (DoJ) and US Treasury to enforce their monitorship program, while others counterargue that the consent of CZ to refrain from executive roles may survive unless explicitly vacated in a separate White House action.
In any case, Binance has been actively negotiating with the DoJ to end the monitorship program early, and as of today, CZ’s family office co-manager is the co-CEO of Binance.
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