Changpeng Zhao, the founder of Binance, has sent a letter to his employees following his departure from the exchange, expressing his pride in their past and future work. Despite legal challenges and a $50 million fine, CZ is confident in Binance’s future.
What does Changpeng Zhao’s farewell letter to Binance employees tell us?
This morning, Web3 journalist Wu Blockchain revealed the letter Changpeng Zhao had sent to his employees overnight following his departure from Binance. In its statement, CZ thanks its teams both for their past and current work and for the times ahead, adding that “Binance will be fine. “
Exclusive: Binance founder Zhao Changpeng CZ issued an internal letter saying “I will have to deal with some pain, but will survive”, quoting Star Trek (2009) , “l need everyone to continue performing admirably”. pic.twitter.com/m9w4hywIPm
– Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) November 22, 2023
“For me, it’s a difficult day, for sure, going through this unfamiliar process while being completely jet-lagged, and not having access to a phone for most of the day at the courthouse. I just want to say that I’m proud of the work we’ve done today, in the past and in the future. “
After paying a $50 million fine, Changpeng Zhao also had to pay $175 million to the American justice system, pending his trial scheduled for next February. In the meantime, the former Binance CEO has the opportunity to return to Dubai, where he has made his home.
Although he faces several years’ imprisonment for the charges against him – to which he has pleaded guilty – CZ is confident, having declared in a lengthy message last night on X that he now intends to invest passively in startups, as he can no longer “see himself becoming CEO again”.
“Binance will be fine. I’ll have to deal with some pain, but I’ll survive. We’ll get through this, even if our structure changes. I needed a break anyway. And now I have it, while you must continue to work hard and not complain about my laziness. “
Finally, to end his farewell letter, Changpeng Zhao quoted Spock, a character from the famous American TV series Star Trek: “I need everyone to continue to perform admirably,” before asking his teams to help Richard Teng, the new CEO, make the transition as smoothly as possible.
With over 30 years’ experience in financial services and regulation, Richard Teng was until yesterday Binance’s Global Head of Regional Markets. With such a transition, the market-leading crypto exchange intends to show regulators that it is ready to show its credentials and rise to the challenges that lie ahead.
