Changpeng Zhao, Binance’s founder, isn’t slowing down after his pardon. In 2025, he shifted from running an exchange to mentoring, investing, and building long-term projects. He’s spending his time scaling an education app, supporting early-stage startups through YZi Labs, and advising governments—all while keeping a grounded, daily routine at home and the gym.
Building for the Future
Zhao’s work centers on four main areas:
- Giggle Academy – a free education platform with over 90,000 kids using it, backed by a 60-person team.
- YZi Labs – his investment and mentoring hub, which evaluated more than 1,000 projects and invested in nearly 70, mostly building on BNB Chain. YZi Labs also launched a $1 billion Builder Fund for DeFi, AI, real-world assets, and biotech.
- BNB Chain – quietly becoming one of the most active settlement layers. Daily active addresses sit around 2 million, and on-chain volume rose 600% year-on-year. BNB has shown resilience, rebounding quickly from market dips and hitting new all-time highs above $1,330.
- Policy Advising – meeting with regulators and policymakers from Pakistan to the UAE to discuss digital finance and crypto adoption.
Stablecoins 2.0
Zhao is focused on evolving the stablecoin model. He calls current offerings “stablecoin 1.0,” dominated by USDT, which offers little yield. Zhao wants to see native, high-liquidity, yield-bearing stablecoins on chains like BNB. He points to projects like Ethena and USD1 as early examples of this next generation. His vision: a stablecoin that is easy to trade, widely listed, and generates sustainable yield.
Prediction Markets and AI
YZi Labs is also backing prediction markets on BNB Chain. Zhao highlights platforms like Probable and Opinion, noting that these markets can outperform traditional polling because participants have real money at stake. He emphasizes that multiple players can coexist—no winner-takes-all approach here.
Zhao is cautious about subscription-based AI trading agents. “The more a profitable strategy is sold, the faster it breaks,” he said. Platform-based businesses—exchanges, prediction markets, tokenized assets—scale sustainably, but shared alpha strategies are fragile.
Patience and Long-Term Vision
If there’s a common thread in Zhao’s 2025 strategy, it’s patience. “Success takes time,” he says, comparing BNB Chain’s growth to Nvidia’s decades-long climb. Zhao wants to fund mission-driven founders, not opportunists chasing the latest meme or trend, believing they’ll be the ones still standing in 2027.
