On April 8, Zhao Changpeng’s personal memoir, “Freedom of Money” (Chinese title: “Binance Life”), was officially launched on the Amazon platform, narrating his complete journey from grassroots rise to building the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, to ultimately pleading guilty and going to jail, from a first-person perspective.
Since entering prison in 2024, Zhao Changpeng began planning to create this book and finalized it at the end of 25 years, with a total of 364 pages. In Zhao Changpeng’s view, the narrative about himself has long been dominated by media reports, court records, and public comments, and he hopes to provide a more complete context for the outside world through this book. At the same time, the human side behind Binance’s rapid rise is often overlooked in the media’s fragmented reports, and Zhao Changpeng also attempts to fill those simplified gaps through this book. As one of the most influential figures in the crypto industry today, Zhao Changpeng personally experienced the early difficult development of Binance and the crypto industry, which also brought many little-known inside stories and details to the book, adding a lot of talking points to the industry in this long and dull bear market.
In this book, Zhao Changpeng spends a lot of space describing his growth experience from his teenage years to his entrepreneurial period, especially the simple living environment and difficult poverty in his teenage years. In the 1980s, Zhao Changpeng’s family of four lived in a simple middle school dormitory: two rooms, one for sleeping (two beds occupied most of the space), and one for living room, study, and dining room. The ground was dirt, without even cement. There was no running water, and the nearest well was 300 meters away, and his mother carried a pole back and forth every day. Each person could only use a bucket of water for bathing, and it was rare to wash once in winter. The village had no electricity for a long time, and CZ did homework by kerosene lamp, and then electricity was connected, but only for a few hours a day, and the time was not fixed. A few years later, a hand-pressure water pump was installed in the yard, and Zhao Changpeng said that this was the moment when he “planted the seeds of yearning for technology in his heart.”
Zhao Changpeng’s father then studied for a physics graduate degree at the University of Science and Technology of China, and the whole family moved to Hefei. First, they lived in a single room in the staff dormitory building, with two bunk beds for a family of four, and the kitchen was a public gas stove in the corridor, and the whole corridor was filled with the smell of oily smoke at meal times. Before long, they moved into a two-bedroom apartment: no living room, the master bedroom as the living room, CZ and his sister lived in the second bedroom, “the space was so narrow that it was difficult to turn around”, and there was no place to take a bath in the whole building, and it took ten minutes to walk to the public bathhouse. After the whole family immigrated to Canada in the 1990s, Zhao Changpeng’s family once lived in a single room in the UBC campus student dormitory, with a family of four squeezed into two bunk beds, and Zhao Changpeng also worked multiple jobs here: McDonald’s, PNE dishwasher, Chevron gas station night shift, volleyball referee. After graduating from university in 2002, Zhao Changpeng joined Bloomberg, which became one of the important turning points in his life. He led a development team of 60 people at the age of 25 (2005), with an annual salary and bonus of $390,000.00.
Through these early experiences, Zhao Changpeng hopes to bring courage and experience inspiration to more entrepreneurs. “I came all the way from the Chinese countryside and later established one of the world’s leading crypto technology companies. Of course, there is an element of luck in this, and it is inseparable from a lot of hard work, but in the final analysis, I am still an ordinary person. I was flipping burgers at McDonald’s when I was 14 years old, and the hourly wage was 4.5 Canadian dollars. So I always feel that anyone can walk the path I have walked, and anyone can do what I have done.” Zhao Changpeng said in an interview earlier this year.
In this book, Zhao Changpeng also spent a lot of time disclosing the details of many decision-making backgrounds of Binance, as well as little-known industry secrets. On September 4, 2017, seven Chinese ministries jointly issued an announcement, explicitly prohibiting the operation of cryptocurrency exchanges, cryptocurrency mining, and ICO. And the night before, CZ said in his memoir that he had a message on his phone saying that there would be a “major rectification” the next day. At 12:30 a.m. that day, CZ and He Yi and other senior executives urgently convened a phone conference, and finally decided that he and He Yi and Heina would go to Tokyo first, while others would stay in Shanghai for the time being.
Binance was an early investor in Terra. When the project crashed in 2021, and Binance’s book wealth of more than $1.60B was facing zeroing, Zhao Changpeng chose not to sell. “There are three reasons: First, as a long-term investor, selling at this juncture would make the market more panic. Our position is large, and a sale will cause a lot of selling pressure, which will hurt the project. As a major player in the market, Binance should support various projects and should not only focus on profits. Second, such a large-scale position exit usually takes several months to gradually carry out. And LUNA was about to crash at that time, which was obviously not a suitable time. Third, I don’t want everyone to think that Binance sold “ahead of retail investors”.” Within a few days, LUNA, worth $1.60B, fell to only a few thousand dollars.
In Zhao Changpeng’s description, many industry figures such as SBF and Xu Mingxing have become “villains” who tried to hinder themselves, Binance, and the development of the industry. In 2015, after Zhao Changpeng left OKCoin, founder Xu Mingxing publicly accused him of “forging a contract” in a transaction. The two sides launched a fierce debate on Reddit. He Yi stood on Zhao Changpeng’s side and resigned immediately. “Xu Mingxing regarded this as a betrayal of him personally, and since then began a sustained attack against CZ and He Yi.” In addition, Zhao Changpeng also accused Xu Mingxing of reporting to the police, which led to Li Lin being taken away by the police. “At a dinner in 2025, I met Li Lin again after 11 years. Li Lin told me that he had seen a screenshot showing that Xu Mingxing personally reported him to the Chinese police, and it was this report that led to his arrest.”
In 2019, after Binance invested in FTX, SBF immediately changed his face, poaching Binance’s VIP account manager with 5 times the salary, taking away all VIP customer information, causing customers to receive FTX targeted offers. SBF has extremely high emotional intelligence on the surface and promotes “effective altruism”, but shortly after the investment, he went around Washington saying bad things about Binance to promote his FTX. In 2022, Binance’s former CFO Zhou Wei wrote a letter to the local blockchain association, wanting to prevent Binance from joining the Philippine Crypto Association. “I have always hated people who compete by lobbying the government or other shady tricks.” Zhao Changpeng also revealed that he heard that Fcoin founder Zhang Jian bought a penthouse in Singapore in mid-2020 after the company went bankrupt. At the end of the book, Zhao Changpeng also attached his 72 principles in work and life, including no PPT, always have termination clauses, reject exclusivity, eliminate the bottom, and regularly rotate teams.
In response to some of Zhao Changpeng’s claims, Xu Mingxing quickly responded sharply on the X platform, “After a person has been in prison for 4 months, he is still talking nonsense to the world. I can only say that a person who is accustomed to lying will never change his nature. These lies include the history of joining and leaving OKCoin, the Roger Ver contract dispute, whether he personally manipulated the market, whether he acted as a tainted witness to report Justin Sun during the investigation, his marital status, etc.” This is not the first time Xu Mingxing and Zhao Changpeng have publicly clashed on the Internet. Previously, in January this year, when Binance was heavily criticized for its responsibility in the 1011 incident, Xu Mingxing publicly stated that the incident was caused by irresponsible marketing activities by certain companies, resulting in hundreds of billions of dollars being liquidated. Later, in another topic, Xu Mingxing criticized Zhao Changpeng, saying that the other party’s confusion of DEX and CEX was not open, but was trying to evade responsibility. This fundamental difference reflects the long-standing difference in values between OKX and Binance.
Xu Mingxing’s fierce criticism, on the one hand, reflects the irreconcilable fierce contradiction between the two industry leaders, and on the other hand, it also shows that many of Zhao Changpeng’s claims may have beautification and controversy. In fact, Zhao Changpeng has also received more and more criticism from the industry in the past year, mainly focusing on the fact that Binance under Zhao Changpeng’s leadership is increasingly lacking in industry responsibility awareness. As an industry giant, there is no specific “market rescue” action in the industry recession. It was not until large-scale criticism that it announced the gradual purchase of Bitcoin to stabilize the market. In addition, Zhao Changpeng’s intentional amplification and catering to the meme community’s speculative culture on the X platform is also one of the phenomena of community dissatisfaction.
From a part-time worker flipping burgers at the age of 14 to the sword-bearer of the crypto empire, Zhao Changpeng has indeed written a unique “Binance Life”. The narrative power of the crypto market has always been full of tension. A book cannot define all the truth, but it can still become an important historical material, providing valuable experience and reference for all participants and latecomers.
[ChainCatcher]
CZ Memoir Release: Market Impact, Controversies, and Strategic Implications
The recent release of Zhao Changpeng’s (CZ) memoir, “Freedom of Money,” represents a watershed moment in crypto industry documentation, offering unprecedented first-hand insights into the rise of Binance and the broader ecosystem. This 364-page account, penned while CZ serves his prison sentence, delivers a narrative that transcends mere autobiography—it’s a strategic positioning exercise that will likely reverberate across the market for months.
Market Impact Analysis
The memoir’s immediate market impact manifests in three primary dimensions:
First, the document serves as a historical artifact that reshapes market narratives. By detailing Binance’s early decision-making processes—from the pre-emptive evacuation of China during the 2017 crypto ban to the high-stakes Terra/LUNA position retention—CZ provides market participants with granular insights into the risk tolerance and strategic thinking that propelled Binance to dominance. This transparency, albeit selective, may temporarily boost market confidence in Binance’s operational resilience.
Second, the book’s portrayal of industry competitors as “villains” injects new volatility into an already fragmented exchange landscape. CZ’s depiction of Xu Mingxing (OKCoin founder) as a malicious actor who “reported Li Lin to Chinese police” and SBF as a deceptive competitor who poached Binance VIP clients creates clear competitive differentiation. This narrative battle could accelerate market consolidation as smaller exchanges may be pressured to align with one of the major players based on their interpretation of these accounts.
Third, the memoir’s timing—released during a prolonged bear market—provides much-needed market engagement. CZ’s rags-to-riches story, from flipping burgers in Canada to building a crypto empire, offers inspirational content that resonates strongly with retail investors, potentially driving short-term sentiment improvements across the broader market.
Token Price Implications
The memoir’s content will likely create divergent impacts across different crypto assets:
For BNB (Binance’s native token), the memoir’s positive framing of CZ’s journey and decision-making processes could provide temporary support. However, this potential upside must be weighed against the negative implications of CZ’s ongoing legal situation and the controversial nature of some claims. Notably, the revelation of Binance’s $1.6B LUNA position nearly going to zero underscores exchange-specific risks that may temper institutional enthusiasm for BNB.
For OKB (OKX’s token), Xu Mingxing’s sharp rebuttal creates direct counter-narrative risk. The accusation that CZ is “accustomed to lying” and the detailed refutation of specific claims could generate negative sentiment around OKB, particularly if the feud escalates. This represents a unique scenario where the leadership conflict directly impacts token valuations.
Meme coins may experience short-term volatility correlated with CZ’s social media engagement. Given his demonstrated influence on memecoin communities through his Twitter activity, the memoir’s release could trigger speculative pumps in certain assets as community members seek CZ’s validation. However, this represents a high-risk, high-reward opportunity rather than a fundamental value proposition.
Strategic Risks Posed by the Memoir
Several material risks emerge from the memoir’s publication:
The most significant risk involves regulatory fallout. By detailing Binance’s past regulatory navigation strategies—including the pre-emptive exit from China—CZ inadvertently provides regulatory bodies with a playbook of potentially problematic behaviors. This could invite intensified scrutiny not just on Binance, but on the entire exchange ecosystem as regulators reassess compliance approaches.
The ongoing feud with Xu Mingxing presents another significant risk. Xu’s public accusation that CZ “is still talking nonsense” and the detailed rebuttal of specific claims suggests this conflict will persist. Such public battles between industry leaders can undermine market confidence and invite regulatory intervention under anti-competitive behavior provisions.
Additionally, the memoir’s ethical implications cannot be overlooked. CZ’s decision to publish claims about other executives’ potentially illegal activities (such as reporting competitors to authorities) creates legal exposure and establishes a precedent for industry conduct that could normalize harmful practices.
Investment Opportunities
Despite these risks, discerning investors can identify several strategic opportunities:
First, the memoir provides unique insights into exchange risk management philosophies. CZ’s account of retaining the $1.6B LUNA position despite its imminent collapse offers valuable lessons on crisis management that can inform investment strategies across the DeFi and CeFi sectors.
Second, the detailed description of Binance’s early growth trajectory—from CZ’s humble beginnings through his Bloomberg career—provides a blueprint for identifying promising exchange projects. Investors can analyze which characteristics of Binance’s early development are replicable in emerging exchanges.
Third, the memoir’s revelations about competitive dynamics within the exchange space offer valuable intelligence for strategic positioning. Understanding how Binance perceived and responded to competitive threats can inform investment decisions regarding exchange tokens and related infrastructure projects.
Long-term Implications
Looking beyond immediate market reactions, the memoir’s long-term implications are profound:
The document will likely become essential reading for crypto historians, regulators, and investors seeking to understand the formative years of the exchange ecosystem. This historical significance could enhance Binance’s legacy regardless of its future market position.
The feud between CZ and Xu Mingxing represents a fundamental clash of business philosophies between growth-at-all-costs (Binance) and perhaps more compliance-focused approaches (OKX). This ideological battle will shape the industry’s evolution for years to come.
Most importantly, the memoir underscores the critical importance of leadership narratives in the crypto space. As the industry matures, the ability of founders to shape their legacies through controlled storytelling will become an increasingly important strategic consideration.
For investors, the memoir should be approached not as gospel truth, but as a carefully curated narrative that reveals as much about CZ’s strategic thinking as it does about industry history. The most sophisticated investors will use this document to refine their understanding of exchange-specific risks, competitive dynamics, and the human factors that continue to influence this nascent industry.