What's Next for Changpeng Zhao 'CZ' of Binance? "I'm not as hungry as I was seven years ago," he said at the Binance Blockchain Week in Dubai

After four months of prison time, former Binance chief executive officer (CEO) Changpeng Zhao, widely known as "CZ," is back in the public eye and has no plans on returning to the CEO position. "I finally got away from that post...today, if I was allowed to go back, I probably won't," he said at Binance Blockchain Week in Dubai.

"I'm not as hungry as I was seven years ago," he added.

Next Stop: Education

Zhao is now redirecting his attention largely from cryptocurrency to education with Giggle Academy, a free-for-all education project that aims to provide basic education for grades 1-12 through engaging, interactive games.

"Building a high-quality and sticky education platform that is entirely free and accessible to all is the most impactful thing I could do for the next chapter of my life," Zhao said on Giggle Academy back in March 2024 after pleading guilty to violating US money laundering laws in November 2023. The project aims to provide access to underprivileged kids in developing countries with subjects such as languages, maths, science, and biology.

Giggle Academy is 100 per cent backed by the ex-Binance CEO.

On Investment Radar

Apart from leading an edtech start-up, on the investment front, Zhao is betting on blockchain, artificial intelligence (AI), and biotech, "Those are the three big areas."

Nine months into the year, 35 per cent of start-up investment in the US has gone to AI-related companies, according to Crunchbase data. Galaxy, a digital asset and blockchain leader, shared that in Q3 2024, venture capitalists invested USD 2.4bn into crypto and blockchain-focused start-ups across 478 deals. Meanwhile, venture capital investment into US biotechs is back at pre-COVID levels. PitchBook and the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) report that in the first quarter of this year, biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies collectively raised USD 5.9 billion across 209 rounds.

Moving Towards Mentorship

The 47-year-old shared that now he aims to help entrepreneurs with funding, mentorship, connections and other resources to build their own companies, "that's what I want to do."

The start-up ecosystem is flourishing courtesy of collaboration, mentor-mentee rapport, and networking. This seems like a natural extension for CZ.

On crypto outlook

By and large, CZ refrained from saying anything definitive or controversial. "Long term I'm very bullish, short term it's very hard to predict," Zhao commented.

With the US presidential elections around the corner, Democratic candidate Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump are vying for the crypto user's attention. "People want crypto" he said and that the "government has to respond." Options traders are optimistic about Bitcoin reaching a record high of USD 80,000 in November 2024, irrespective of who wins as per a Bloomberg report.

Zhao feels "the legislation regulations are improving. Bigger countries move slower. But overall, it's moving in a very positive direction." Refraining from making election comments, he added "both parties are pro-crypto. That's fantastic."