Changpeng Zhao, also known as CZ, is a Chinese-Canadian business executive and entrepreneur who is the founder and CEO of Binance, one of the world's largest cryptocurrency exchanges by trading volume. Here are some key facts about him:

Zhao was born on November 18, 1976, in Jiangsu, China. He grew up in a family of educators and engineers and moved to Vancouver, Canada, when he was 12 years old.

Zhao studied computer science at McGill University in Montreal, Canada, and worked at several tech companies, including Bloomberg Tradebook and Fusion Systems, before entering the cryptocurrency industry in 2013.

In 2013, Zhao co-founded OKCoin, a Chinese cryptocurrency exchange, and served as its CTO until 2014. He then worked at Blockchain.info, a blockchain data provider, as its head of development from 2014 to 2015.

In 2017, Zhao founded Binance, a cryptocurrency exchange based in Malta. Binance quickly became one of the most popular exchanges in the world, with daily trading volumes reaching over $10 billion at its peak.

In 2018, Forbes named Zhao one of the richest people in cryptocurrency, estimating his net worth to be around $1.4 billion at the time.

Zhao is known for his active presence on social media, particularly on Twitter, where he often shares updates and insights about the cryptocurrency industry and Binance.

Zhao has faced criticism and controversy over some of Binance's practices, such as its lax approach to know-your-customer (KYC) and anti-money laundering (AML) regulations, and its move from China to Malta in response to Chinese regulatory pressure.

In 2021, Zhao was named one of the most influential people in crypto by TIME magazine.

As of 2021, Binance operates in over 180 countries and has over 10 million registered users. The company also offers a wide range of services, including cryptocurrency trading, lending, staking, and more.