Binance billionaire Zhao guides regulators to relax crypto rules

[KUALA LUMPUR] Crypto’s richest man, Changpeng Zhao, was in a playful mood as he addressed a packed house at the Ritz-Carlton in Kuala Lumpur, just seven months after his release from a low-security California prison.

“How many are regulators or regulatory backgrounds here? OK, not many. So we’re safe,” the former chief executive officer of Binance Holdings said at the gathering on Tuesday (Apr 22) night, delighting the audience.

The reality, though, is that the man known in crypto circles as “CZ” is increasingly focused on advising government officials on how best to regulate digital assets. He has been named as an adviser to both Pakistan and Kyrgyzstan in recent weeks. He met with Malaysia Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on Tuesday to discuss the country’s potential as a crypto hub. It is all adding up to quite a turn of events for a man who pleaded guilty in 2023 to anti-money laundering failures that US officials said gave criminal groups and organisations designated as terrorists access to Binance.

Zhao’s appearance at the Ritz-Carlton gave a glimpse into the kind of counsel he’s been offering: “I always encourage government to take a more relaxed approach,” he said.

In laying out his blueprint for policing the industry, the billionaire drew particular attention to crypto-friendly governments in the Middle East. He said he encourages the establishment of new regulatory agencies dedicated to digital assets, such as Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority, which handed Binance a full licence in 2024 after Zhao gave up voting control in the exchange group’s local entity. In Dubai, it took him “literally 24 hours” to get a golden visa, Zhao added. He highlighted Bahrain’s central bank as another “forward-thinking” regulator.

Binance has also looked to the Middle East for investment: Abu Dhabi’s MGX acquired a minority stake in Binance for US$2 billion in March.

Zhao, who agreed to pay a US$50 million fine and stepped down as Binance’s CEO after his guilty plea in November 2023, has simultaneously been making inroads in the US, where President Donald Trump’s administration is decidedly pro-crypto. Representatives of Trump’s family have held talks about taking a financial stake in the US arm of Binance, according to a Wall Street Journal report, which also said Zhao has been pushing the Trump administration to grant him a pardon.

A spokesperson for Zhao denied that there had been any discussions with the Trump family about taking a stake in Binance.

In Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday, Zhao said the transition in the US from cracking down on the digital-asset industry under former President Joe Biden to embracing it under Trump has in turn triggered a “180-degree shift” in the mindset of regulators globally.

“With the US being so pro-crypto right now, all the other governments actually have to be slightly more competitive in order to retain talent, attract funds and investments,” he said. “So I do encourage most governments to be a little bit more progressive than the US.”

Binance in Malaysia

Binance has a checkered past in Malaysia. In July 2021, the Securities Commission Malaysia reprimanded the firm and then-CEO Zhao for operating the digital-asset exchange in the country illegally. Binance took a minority stake in Malaysian exchange MX Global – which hosted Tuesday’s event with Zhao – the following year.

Anwar now wants to reforge Malaysia’s finance sector by embracing blockchain and cryptocurrencies. The country “must move away from outdated business models and the antiquated financial system,” he said after meeting with Zhao and Abu Dhabi officials in January.

The Malaysian prime minister doubled down in a Tuesday post on X, saying he welcomed continued discussion with agencies including the securities regulator, Bank Negara Malaysia and the Ministry of Digital to “explore ways to facilitate and promote responsible innovation.”

Future focus

After his release from US custody, Zhao pledged in a post on X to focus on investments that would prioritise “impact” over returns. He also said a new endeavour named Giggle Academy, a nonprofit online education platform, would be a big part of his life. Binance Labs, once the exchange operator’s venture arm, was reorganised in January into an entity named YZi Labs that would manage the wealth of Zhao and Binance co-founder Yi He.

At Tuesday’s event, Zhao said the Giggle platform could help children in emerging markets – including in Africa – to land jobs from the age of 14 and upwards. Asked on stage whether that could be seen as promoting child labour, he did not exactly back down.

“I’ve got to be careful on this one. We don’t want to violate any laws about working labour age,” he said. Giggle does not offer a job market on the platform today, but it plans to in the future, he added.

“We are also willing to work with labour ministries to review or at least explore what’s the right working age for kids. So I do think that you will help many families when the kids can do simple jobs early on.” BLOOMBERG