Changpeng Zhao (CZ) released his autobiography, and one thing stood out among parts of the crypto community; it wasn’t very ‘crypto’. It had none $NFT tie-in, no token-gated access and no on-chain experiment, just Amazon.
This decision caught the attention of Colin Wu and he wondered why one of crypto’s biggest figures would choose such a traditional route. He argued that the book could have supported crypto payments or contained a soul bond $NFT at least for buyers. Wu thinks there could be something that better aligns with Web3 principles.
CZ defends Amazon launch
Wu referenced Vitalik Buterin’s 2022 book Proof of Stake in an X-post. Its launch followed a very different path. The release allowed readers to donate Ether to receive a digital copy, paired with a $NFT. However, the proceeds (including royalties) from the sale went to Gitcoin Grants. This became an early example of how publishing could fit into crypto-linked distribution.
In that context, CZ’s approach felt unusually conservative. Meanwhile, Zhao had dismissed the idea that there was anything deeper behind the choice.
“It’s not that complicated,” he wrote. “You don’t have to raise a cow just to drink milk.” He added that he has always bought books on Amazon. He suggested that building a custom crypto-based distribution system for just one release didn’t make much sense. CZ said he hopes people outside the crypto industry can easily purchase and read it. It seems the goal was accessibility.
电商不是我们的专长。为了一本书自己搞个买书的功能好像有点麻烦。另外希望非加密行业的也能容易买到。
— CZ 🔶BNB (@cz_binance) April 8, 2026
In another post, Wu floated the idea of a traditional launch, as a crypto-looped release could cause many complications. He stated that CZ might want to use a more prudent and safer issuance method, avoiding all kinds of tax problems.
CZ’s book exposes his legal battle
According to Wu, CZ’s book offers a more personal and sometimes blunt look at his journey. He described it as filled with strong opinions. It feels like Binance’s founder hates Zhou Wei (former CFO), Lao Xu, SBF, media and lawyers. However, he praised He Yi and Heina while barely mentioning Sun Ge.
The legal chapters prove to be important points in the book. CZ said that when he was investigated by the US government, he hired numerous lawyers, which cost a fortune. Those lawyers started fighting among themselves.
At one point, he said, a lawyer even told him that the more fines they paid, the better. This is how they ended up paying billions of dollars in fines. In the end, the judge pointed out that they paid so many fines, which proves that the crimes must be extremely serious. This left CZ absolutely floored.
CZ has detailed his time in custody. Wu noted that Zhao explained that the prison was noisy from morning to evening, making him unable to sleep at all. He added that CZ was suddenly transferred to a detention center in the past fortnight and believed he would be held indefinitely.
According to Wu’s retelling, the detention center only had staunch white light bulbs 24 hours a day. Zhao relied on silently calculating Bitcoin’s hashing algorithm in his head to stay sane.
Zhao stepped down as CEO of Binance after pleading guilty to money laundering violations in the US. The company agreed to a $4.3 billion settlement. However, he was later pardoned by Donald Trump. This step still remains questionable in the political view.
Since then, the global crypto industry has seen many ups and downs. The cumulative market capitalization for digital assets hovers around $2.41 trillion. The Bitcoin price has risen by more than 6% in the past seven days. BTC is trading around $71,000 at the time of writing.