# Changpeng Zhao: Inside a Billionaire’s Paradise With Crypto’s Most Powerful Ex-Convict

> A quick take · The New York Times, October 1, 2026

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LLMS index: [llms.txt](/llms.txt)

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> Inside a Billionaire’s Paradise With Crypto’s Most Powerful Ex-Convict
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> After serving a four-month prison sentence, he returned to Abu Dhabi, still Binance’s majority shareholder and still the most powerful figure in the industry.
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> For years, his true calling has been what academics term “jurisdictional arbitrage” — moving from country to country in search of a legal framework pliable enough to accommodate his appetite for risk and growth.
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> — [The New York Times · Changpeng Zhao (CZ), founder of Binance](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/01/business/changpeng-zhao-binance.html)

Now that’s the art of the deal.