Changpeng Zhao owns Binance. In 2013, while playing poker, he encountered Bitcoin and decided to put everything into it and devote his life to it. Changpeng Zhao made the risky step of starting his exchange. So, he created Binance using a $15 million ICO. Binance was founded in 2017 by Changpeng Zhao (CZ), also known as "CZ," within the crypto community. CZ has a background in high-frequency trading and previously worked at prominent companies like Bloomberg. With a vision to make cryptocurrency accessible to everyone, CZ launched Binance and led its rapid expansion into a global exchange.