CZ Still Has a Say in Major Binance Decisions, Co-CEO Richard Teng Confirms

Changpeng "CZ" Zhao still weighs in on major corporate decisions at Binance, according to co-CEO Richard Teng. In a February 12 appearance on Bloomberg Television's "The China Show," Teng confirmed that CZ, as the exchange's largest shareholder, retains influence over significant company matters, even though he stepped down as CEO more than two years ago.

The admission puts a clear label on something the crypto industry has quietly assumed for months: CZ never really left.

What Exactly Did Teng Say?

Teng framed CZ's involvement as standard corporate practice. As the primary shareholder, CZ "has a say over important corporate decisions," Teng told Bloomberg, comparing the arrangement to how major shareholders operate in large, publicly listed companies.

On the day-to-day side, Teng stressed that nothing has changed. He and co-CEO Yi He work closely with a seven-member board of directors that includes three independent directors and an independent chairman. Teng described the pair as "one team" and praised Yi He as someone who has been instrumental in building Binance from the ground up, particularly in product development.

The interview also covered the October 2025 crypto crash, during which roughly $19 billion in leveraged positions were liquidated across exchanges. Binance faced accusations that it bore responsibility for the meltdown, but Teng pushed back firmly, calling it "a crypto event, not a Binance event."

How Did CZ End Up on the Sidelines?

CZ founded Binance in 2017 and built it into the world's largest crypto exchange by trading volume in under two years. That run hit a wall in November 2023, when he pleaded guilty to U.S. charges related to anti-money-laundering violations. Binance agreed to a $4.3 billion settlement, one of the largest corporate penalties in U.S. history, and CZ was forced to resign as CEO. He was sentenced to four months in federal prison and released in September 2024.

Richard Teng, a former regulator with stints at the Abu Dhabi Global Market and Singapore's Monetary Authority, stepped in as CEO in November 2023. In December 2025, Binance formalized a dual-leadership model by appointing co-founder Yi He as co-CEO alongside Teng at Binance Blockchain Week in Dubai.

Then came the pardon. On October 23, 2025, President Donald Trump granted CZ a full pardon, with the White House calling the original prosecution part of "the Biden administration's war on cryptocurrency." The pardon drew sharp criticism from lawmakers, particularly given reported ties between Binance and the Trump family's crypto venture, World Liberty Financial. Trump later said he did not know CZ personally.

What Does This Mean for Binance?

Teng's comments put a formal frame around CZ's role. He is not running day-to-day operations, but he has a seat at the table when it counts. For a company that spent the last two years distancing itself from its founder to satisfy regulators, the acknowledgment carries weight.

Teng seemed aware of the optics. He compared CZ's position to founders like Jeff Bezos or Bill Gates, who maintain influence through ownership long after stepping away from executive roles. The message: this is normal corporate governance, not a shadow leadership arrangement.

Still, the situation is not entirely apples-to-apples. Amazon and Microsoft are publicly traded with layers of independent oversight. Binance is a private company, and CZ's pardon has cleared the legal cloud that originally forced him out. Whether that leads to a more visible return remains an open question Teng did not directly address.

On the compliance front, Binance has leaned hard into its post-settlement cleanup. The exchange now operates under licenses in over 20 jurisdictions, and Teng has previously stated that the company employs more than 1,000 staff in compliance-related roles. That investment appears designed to show regulators that the company has turned a page, regardless of who weighs in on big decisions behind the scenes.

For now, the structure appears to be working. Binance is growing, compliance investment continues to climb, and CZ's influence is channeled through the boardroom rather than the corner office. How long that arrangement stays clean depends on what regulators decide to poke at next.

Sources:

• Bloomberg Television Richard Teng's February 12, 2026 interview on "The China Show," covering CZ's shareholder role and the October 2025 crash
• Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) Summary of Teng's Bloomberg interview detailing CZ's continued say in major decisions and Binance's board structure
• CoinDesk Reporting on Yi He's appointment as co-CEO at Binance Blockchain Week in December 2025
• CNBC Coverage of Trump's October 23, 2025 pardon of CZ and the surrounding political context
• FactCheck.org Analysis of Trump's claims regarding the CZ pardon, including timeline of guilty plea, sentencing, and pardon details