Binance went from launch to the world's largest crypto exchange in 6 months. Six months. Changpeng Zhao raised $15 million in an ICO in July 2017 and by January 2018 Binance was processing more trading volume than any exchange on Earth. At its peak it handled $76 billion in daily volume — more than the New York Stock Exchange. Then the US government came calling. CZ pleaded guilty to money laundering charges, paid $4.3 billion in fines, served 4 months in prison, and stepped down as CEO. The exchange is still the largest in the world. The founder is a convicted felon. Crypto is wild.
Founded
2017
HQ
No official headquarters (historically Malta, now disputed)
Total Raised
$15 million (ICO only)
Founder
Changpeng Zhao (CZ)
Status
Operating (CZ sentenced, stepped down as CEO)
Website
www.binance.comTHE ORIGIN STORY
Changpeng Zhao — known universally as CZ — was born in China, grew up in Canada, and worked at the Tokyo Stock Exchange and Bloomberg before discovering Bitcoin in 2013. He joined Blockchain.info (now Blockchain.com) and later became CTO of OKCoin, another crypto exchange.
In 2017, he left to start his own exchange. He raised $15 million through an ICO of the BNB token in 15 days.
Binance launched in July 2017 — right as the crypto bull market was exploding. CZ's key insight was speed and global reach: while Coinbase was focused on US compliance, Binance launched everywhere at once with hundreds of trading pairs.
By December 2017, Binance had 6 million registered users. By January 2018, it was the largest exchange by volume.
The entire journey from ICO to #1 took 6 months. Nothing in the history of finance has scaled that fast.
WHAT THEY ACTUALLY DO
Trading fees. Binance charges a 0.1% fee on every spot trade (with discounts for using BNB token to pay fees).
Futures trading fees are 0.02% maker / 0.04% taker. On $76 billion in daily volume, even these tiny percentages add up to staggering revenue.
Additional revenue from: Binance Earn (staking and savings products), Binance Launchpad (token launch platform — Binance takes a cut), Binance Card (crypto debit card), Binance Pay (crypto payments), BNB Chain ecosystem fees, and institutional services. The business model is elegantly simple: be the place where the most crypto is traded and take a tiny cut of every trade.
Volume is everything.
THE PRODUCTS
Binance Exchange — the core spot trading platform with 350+ cryptocurrencies and 1,500+ trading pairs. Binance Futures — perpetual and quarterly futures contracts with up to 125x leverage.
BNB (Binance Coin) — the native token, used for fee discounts and as the gas token for BNB Chain. BNB Chain — Binance's own blockchain, one of the most used in crypto for DeFi and NFTs.
Binance Earn — staking, savings, and DeFi yield products. Binance Launchpad — token launch platform for new crypto projects.
Binance P2P — peer-to-peer trading platform supporting 100+ payment methods. Binance Pay — crypto payment solution for merchants and users.
Binance Card — Visa debit card that lets users spend crypto. Binance Academy — free educational content about crypto and blockchain.
HOW THEY GREW
Be everywhere, list everything, move faster than regulators. While Coinbase listed a handful of carefully vetted tokens, Binance listed hundreds — giving traders access to every altcoin they wanted.
This made Binance the default destination for anyone who wanted to trade anything beyond Bitcoin and Ethereum. CZ also launched localized versions of Binance for different markets and supported dozens of languages.
The BNB token created a loyalty flywheel — users who hold BNB get fee discounts, which incentivizes them to stay on Binance. The Binance Launchpad — where new tokens launch exclusively on Binance — created a reason for traders to keep BNB on the exchange.
CZ was also a masterful social media operator, building a cult-like following on Twitter with his "SAFU" memes and approachable persona.
THE HARD PART
Regulation and criminal charges. Binance operated for years in a regulatory gray zone — no official headquarters, operating in nearly every country, with minimal KYC (know your customer) and anti-money laundering controls.
The US Department of Justice investigated and in November 2023, CZ pleaded guilty to violating the Bank Secrecy Act. Binance agreed to pay $4.3 billion in fines — one of the largest corporate penalties in US history.
CZ stepped down as CEO and was sentenced to 4 months in federal prison. He served his time and was released in September 2024.
Richard Teng replaced him as CEO. The exchange continues to operate but under much stricter compliance requirements and ongoing monitoring.
Multiple countries have banned or restricted Binance over the years, including the UK, Japan, and several EU nations.
MONEY TRAIL
2017 · Led by
$NaNM raised
WHO BACKED THEM
No traditional VC funding. Binance raised $15 million through an Initial Coin Offering (ICO) of its BNB token in July 2017.
That is the entire fundraising history. No Series A, no Series B, no IPO.
The company generated so much revenue from trading fees that it never needed outside capital. At peak, Binance was reportedly generating over $20 billion in annual revenue.
When you are printing money that fast, you do not need venture capitalists.
Head-to-Head
Compare Binance vs another company.