Changpeng Zhao — Freedom of Money
Pre-order Open · April 8, 2026

Freedom
of Money

From a dirt floor in rural China to building
the world's largest crypto exchange — 300 million users,
a $100B valuation, and four months in prison.

By Changpeng Zhao (CZ)  ·  Founder, Binance

—Days
—Hours
—Min
—Sec
↗  Pre-order on Amazon  — €8.66 ✉  Notify Me on Launch Day

Kindle + Print · 457 pages · 100% of proceeds to charity

#1
Crypto Exchange in the World
300M
Users on the Platform
$4.3B
Fine Paid by Binance
$150M
CZ's Personal Fine

No fraud. No money laundering.
A single paperwork charge — for a company not even operating in the U.S.
His lawyers said no one had ever gone to prison for it.
They were wrong.

Part memoir, part manifesto — Freedom of Money is the unfiltered account of building Binance, navigating crypto's explosive rise, and facing the full force of U.S. federal prosecution. CZ wrote most of it from a prison cell. He holds nothing back.

Pre-order on Amazon → Read key passages ↓
Key passages

Five things this book
actually covers.

These are not marketing summaries — they are the real themes of the book, drawn directly from CZ's account. Honest. Unfiltered. Sometimes uncomfortable.

Pre-order to read it all →

CZ grew up in rural China in a home with a dirt floor and no running water. He immigrated to Canada as a teenager, studied computer science at McGill, and eventually built the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world.

The Origin  ·  From China to Binance

Founded with a few friends in 2017, Binance grew into a 300-million user platform with a $100 billion valuation. CZ takes readers behind the scenes — the pivotal decisions, the principles, the talent, and the relentless innovation that made it possible.

The Rise  ·  Building Binance

Assured by his lawyers that no one had previously been criminally prosecuted for this single violation of the Bank Secrecy Act — and that he would not receive a jail sentence — CZ voluntarily flew to the U.S. to plead guilty.

The Decision  ·  Flying In Voluntarily

Binance paid a fine of $4.3 billion. CZ was personally fined $150 million and sentenced to four months in prison — during which time he wrote most of this book. The details of his experience are as appalling as they are riveting.

The Sentence  ·  Inside

CZ shares his views on the vital role crypto can play in expanding global financial access — particularly for the legions of those in developing countries with no access to traditional banking services. Freedom of money is the mission.

The Mission  ·  Financial Freedom for Everyone
Inside the book

The rise. The attack.
The reckoning.

I
🚀

Building Binance

From a tiny operation founded with a few friends in 2017 — attracting top talent, inspiring dedication, and driving relentless innovation in a market many believed was already saturated.

Origins · Culture · Growth
II
⚖️

The Prosecution

The DOJ, SEC, and other U.S. federal regulators came for a company not physically operating in the U.S. A $4.3B fine, a $150M personal fine, and four months in prison — for a single paperwork charge. No fraud. No money laundering.

DOJ · Prison · Bank Secrecy Act
III
🌍

The Future of Money

CZ's vision for crypto as financial infrastructure for the billions in developing countries with no access to traditional banking. The freedom of money is not a tagline — it's the entire point.

Mission · Financial Access · Crypto
What you'll get

You'll finish this book
differently than you started.

457 pages. Part memoir, part manifesto. CZ wrote most of it during four months in a U.S. prison. No ghostwriter. No PR filter. Just the truth — as he lived it.

  • 01
    The Origin Story
    From rural China with a dirt floor and no running water, to immigrating to Canada as a teenager, to McGill — the formative years that shaped CZ's view of money and freedom.
  • 02
    Building Binance
    The pivotal decisions, guiding principles, and leadership lessons behind growing Binance to 300 million users — in a market everyone said was already full.
  • 03
    The FTX Implosion
    A first-hand account of the collapse of FTX and Sam Bankman-Fried — crypto's defining scandal — and what it revealed about the industry's fragility and resilience.
  • 04
    The DOJ Prosecution
    Why he voluntarily flew to the U.S. The Bank Secrecy Act charge. The $4.3B Binance fine, the $150M personal fine, and four months in prison. And the DHS detention after release.
  • 05
    Financial Freedom for All
    CZ's case for why crypto is the only viable path to banking access for billions in developing countries — and why this mission drives everything he has done.
Freedom of Money — Book Cover
€8.66
Kindle
Changpeng Zhao
About the author

Changpeng
Zhao

Founder of Binance  ·  币安人生

CZ is the founder of Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume. Born in Jiangsu, China, he immigrated to Canada as a teenager and studied computer science at McGill University.

Before Binance, he built trading systems at the Tokyo Stock Exchange and Bloomberg, and served as CTO of OKCoin. In 2017, he founded Binance with a few friends — and within months it became the #1 crypto exchange in the world.

In 2024, he stepped down as CEO of Binance. He now focuses on education, blockchain adoption, and philanthropy — and has pledged 100% of this book's proceeds to charity.

2017
Binance Founded
300M
Platform Users
$150M
Personal Fine
$0
Keeps from Book

"No fraud. No money laundering. A single charge under the Bank Secrecy Act — for not completing paperwork, in Binance's early days, for a company not physically operating in the United States."

Other nations view U.S. attempts to regulate non-U.S. persons' activities abroad as violations of international law. CZ's lawyers assured him no one had ever been criminally prosecuted for this charge — and that there would be no jail time. He flew in voluntarily anyway. What happened next is as appalling as it is riveting.

Bank Secrecy Act DOJ Prosecution SEC Investigation FTX & SBF $4.3B Fine $150M Personal Fine 4 Months Prison DHS Detention After Release International Law Regulatory Overreach
♡

Every dollar goes to charity.

All proceeds from book sales go directly to charitable causes. This isn't about profit — CZ has been explicit about this from the start. Reading this book is also donating. History tends to move forward through those willing to act decisively and speak candidly — as CZ does here.

100%
Proceeds
to Charity
April 8, 2026

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Kindle & Print available  ·  Ships April 8, 2026
457 pages  ·  Publisher: Freedom of Money Foundation