Author: Yizhiyu CoolFish
Recently, group members have been discussing three "CZs"—Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, Manus COO CZ Chen, and the recently arrested and repatriated boss of the Prince Group, Chen Zhi.
If Bao in "Blossoms Shanghai" represents a glamorous transformation in 1990s Shanghai amid era opportunities, then the following stories are three different scripts offered by three CZs choosing different paths in the wave of globalization.
Three people, three stories, spanning nearly half a century.....
I. Chen Zhi and the Era of the Unruly—The Myth of Rapid Wealth in the Gray Zone
In the mid-2010s, Chinese capital was eager to go global. It was a special moment: on one hand, China's economic strength continued to grow, foreign exchange reserves were ample, and domestic companies and investment institutions were increasingly willing to expand globally, urgently seeking new growth points in overseas markets; on the other hand, the regulatory framework for global cross-border capital flows lagged behind the pace of market changes, with entry rules and review standards in some countries still being adjusted and improved, creating a certain flexibility due to regulatory differences across markets.
There were many gray areas, and many opportunities.
Chen Zhi (abbreviated as CZ) rose against this backdrop. This 38-year-old businessman built a transnational fraud network, with daily revenues once reaching $30 million. This number is enough to make anyone's eyes widen. But more importantly, this number represents an unconstrained gray area.
In Chen Zhi's story, we see unruly entrepreneurship going global, but in the wrong direction—very wrong. He did not create value through product innovation, technological advancement, or management optimization. He accumulated wealth through direct, aggressive, and even illegal means.
He established a "fraud center" in Cambodia, using forced labor to conduct online fraud targeting victims worldwide. He attempted to launder money through financial tools, using cryptocurrencies, cross-border payments, and multi-country registrations to evade regulation.
Why could this model exist?
The answer is simple: because no one could effectively stop it. In the mid-2010s, global regulation of transnational cybercrime was not as tight as it is now. Law enforcement cooperation between countries was not close enough. A person with the courage, resources, and ability to reduce the probability of being regulated and held accountable through lobbying, regulatory favoritism, and jurisdictional immunity could survive in the gaps of the law—and even thrive.
But all this came to an abrupt end in October 2025. U.S. prosecutors filed charges against Chen Zhi. In January 2026, he was arrested in Cambodia and subsequently repatriated to China. His empire collapsed overnight. Interested friends can read my other article: "‘Even a Penny Falling from the Sky Is His’—Uncovering the Crimes and Downfall of Cambodia’s ‘Prince’ Chen Zhi."
What does Chen Zhi represent?
He represents an era that has passed. The characteristics of that era were: regulatory vacuums, numerous gray areas, and the possibility of rapid wealth accumulation. But the fate of this era is: once global regulation begins to coordinate, once countries strengthen law enforcement cooperation, once the international order begins to rebuild, this model collapses completely.
Chen Zhi's arrest is not just the tragedy of one person but the end of a gray era.
II. Changpeng Zhao and the Era of Technological Entrepreneurship—The Game of Innovation and Compliance
If Chen Zhi represents the era of gray wealth, then Changpeng Zhao represents the era of technological entrepreneurship.
This is a completely different story.
Changpeng Zhao was born in 1977 in Lianyungang, Jiangsu. His upbringing was typical: he moved to Canada at age 12, studied computer science at McGill University, and after graduation worked at Bloomberg and the Tokyo Stock Exchange, among others, developing technology and financial software.
He is a technologist, a programmer who understands finance.
This background is important. Unlike Chen Zhi, Zhao did not create value by evading regulation but by technological innovation that changed the entire industry's ecosystem.
In 2013, Zhao entered the cryptocurrency field, working at Blockchain.info and later serving as CTO of OKCoin.
Notably, in 2014, he sold his Shanghai property and invested the proceeds in Bitcoin.
After leaving OKCoin in less than a year, he founded his second company, Bijie Technology, but this was not his greatest achievement.
In 2017, Zhao founded Binance. This was a critical moment. 2017 was a big year for cryptocurrencies, with Bitcoin rising from $3,000 to nearly $20,000, and the entire crypto community was euphoric. Against this backdrop, Zhao launched Binance—an efficient, user-friendly cryptocurrency exchange.
Binance's success was astonishing. In less than eight months, it became the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, capable of processing about 1.4 million orders per second.
Zhao himself became a legendary figure. In February 2018, Forbes magazine listed him as the "richest person in cryptocurrency." By May 2018, his net worth exceeded $1.39 billion.
But there is a key difference: Zhao's success was built on product innovation. Binance succeeded because it offered a better user experience, higher trading efficiency, and more currency pairs.
But Zhao also faced a problem: catching up. Although Binance changed the exchange ecosystem through product innovation, it did not obtain formal financial licenses in any country. This might have been acceptable in 2017 and 2018, but over time, global regulators began to focus on cryptocurrency exchanges.
Zhao faced a choice: either resist regulation or compromise and surrender to it. He ultimately chose the latter.
In November 2023, Zhao and Binance pleaded guilty to the U.S. Department of Justice, admitting violations of the Bank Secrecy Act and anti-money laundering regulations. Binance was fined $4.3 billion, and Zhao stepped down as CEO.
This is an interesting contrast. When faced with regulatory pressure, Chen Zhi chose to flee and resist, ultimately being arrested. Zhao chose to plead guilty and survived. Although Binance was severely hit, it still exists and has strengthened cooperation with U.S. regulators. In the long run, the market will become more standardized, and Binance remains the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange.
What does Changpeng Zhao represent?
He represents the typical characteristics of the technological entrepreneurship era. In this era, a entrepreneur with a technical background and product innovation capabilities can rise rapidly by changing the industry's ecosystem. But this era is also characterized by gradual regulatory catch-up. Innovators can temporarily bypass regulation but must eventually face it.
The success of the technological entrepreneurship era lies not in resisting regulation but in adapting to it. The true winners are those enterprises and entrepreneurs who can continue to innovate within the regulatory framework.
III. CZ Chen and the AI Era—New Possibilities for Leapfrogging
If Chen Zhi represents the unruly era and Changpeng Zhao represents the technological entrepreneurship era, then CZ Chen represents the great leap forward in the wave of AI.
This is a brand-new story.
CZ Chen is a post-90s generation. She is not an entrepreneur but a professional manager. She graduated with a bachelor's degree from Shanghai University of Finance and Economics and a master's degree from Columbia University. Her career trajectory is also perfect: she worked at Vanke, MM Capital (an investment bank), and finally joined Manus AI as Chief Operating Officer.
CZ Chen did not create wealth by founding a company but achieved leapfrogging through precise career choices. She joined the right company at the right time and ultimately reaped huge rewards.
The story behind Manus and its founder Xiao Hong is also interesting (for details, see my other article: "Xiao Hong: From Small-Town Youth to Manus CEO, the Long-Termism of a Bitcoin Believer").
In March 2025, Manus shocked the global tech circle, with media calling it the world's first general-purpose AI Agent. By December, Manus had achieved $100 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR), setting a record for the fastest startup to reach this milestone.
In the same month, Meta announced its acquisition of Manus. This was a huge success. As the company's COO, CZ Chen undoubtedly gained immense wealth and fame.
But the story is not over. On January 8, 2026, China's Ministry of Commerce stated that it would review Meta's acquisition of Manus to assess whether the transaction violates Chinese laws and regulations on technology export controls, imports and exports, and overseas investment.
CZ Chen suddenly seems to be facing uncertainty, but this uncertainty is entirely different from that faced by Chen Zhi or Changpeng Zhao.
Chen Zhi faced moral and legal judgment—his business model itself was illegal. Zhao faced compliance pressure—his business model needed to compromise with regulation.
CZ Chen faces geopolitical risk—her success itself is not problematic, but her success involves Sino-U.S. technological competition.
What does CZ Chen represent? She represents the new possibilities of the AI era. In this era, a well-educated, internationally minded professional elite can achieve rapid wealth leapfrogging by joining the right company and making the right choices at the right time.
In Conclusion
Times are changing, and so are the rules.
Three "CZs," three different lives, yet like three prisms, they refract three facets of the博弈 between individuals and power, technology, and national will in the wave of era development.
Some gamble on gray areas, some embrace regulatory pain, some ride the AI wave. The era's tickets are always being issued, but each era's ticket looks different.
If you can't adapt, you can only be out.
