After stepping down as CEO of Binance in 2023 and serving a brief prison sentence for violating the federal Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) in the U.S., Changpeng “CZ” Zhao remains one of the most closely watched figures in crypto.

This feature is a part of CoinDesk's Most Influential 2025 list.

His formal exit from the exchange he built did little to dim his prominence. If anything, CZ’s influence only became stronger in 2025 after he was awarded a pardon from U.S. President Donald Trump.

CZ wrote that he was “deeply grateful” for the pardon and “to President Trump for upholding America’s commitment to fairness, innovation and justice.”

In a comical turn of events, Trump later claimed that he “didn’t know” who Zhao was before adding that he was a “victim of weaponization by government.”

This subtle dig didn’t dampen Zhao’s prolific use of social media, where he continues to comment on industry trends and the future of global crypto adoption. He even did something slightly out of character, publicly revealing that he had a $1.8 million position in ASTER, the native token of a derivatives exchange hosted on BNB Chain. His word carried weight, with ASTER rallying from $0.90 to $1.08 shortly after the tweet.

2025 also saw CZ take on a “more active role” in investment activities within YZi Labs, the venture capital arm of Binance that was previously called Binance Labs. Earlier this year it was reported YZi Labs managed around $10 billion in capital, including investment in more than 250 companies.