I’m immensely grateful to Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, who is one of the lead sponsors of our nonprofit, the Prison Professors Charitable Corporation. I’d like to describe how we met.
As an investor, I became interested in Bitcoin in early 2024, when I read that the Securities and Exchange Commission would authorize financial institutions to offer Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Those news reports prompted me to want to learn more. I searched for the original White Paper that Satoshi Nakamoto published in 2008. Despite not having a strong technical background, I realized how this innovation could empower people by offering an alternative to government-issued fiat currencies. Satoshi’s vision had been evolving since 2009, and 15 years later, we were still in the early days.
I learned that the price of Bitcoin was once less than a penny. By 2012, when I transitioned from prison to a halfway house, Bitcoin traded around $13. It bothered me that I didn’t have opportunities to learn about cryptocurrency while serving my sentence. I began investing in Bitcoin when it traded in the $40,000 range. Then, I began researching to learn more, intending to write a course that I could use to teach others in prison about cryptocurrency. Through that research, I learned about the extraordinary life of Changpeng Zhao—better known as CZ. He founded Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, among many other companies.
By the spring of 2024, my business partner, Justin, informed me that CZ’s team had requested a phone call. A federal judge had sentenced CZ to a four-month prison term, and he had questions about how to navigate the journey. I had already shifted most of my time toward our nonprofit, but when Justin told me that CZ had scheduled a call, I agreed to participate.
From that first call, I admired his resilience. He was a citizen of the United Arab Emirates, a country that did not have an extradition treaty with the United States. Nevertheless, he paid massive financial penalties and voluntarily flew to the USA so that he could resolve matters with our government. Despite coming to the USA on his own, and paying more than $4 billion, a federal judge sentenced him to four months in prison.
I spent time with CZ, his legal team, and his family as he prepared for the journey ahead. Although no one could change the past, anyone could work to open new opportunities. I shared my book Earning Freedom: Conquering a 45-Year Prison Term, and offered suggestions on how he could use his time inside most productively. Prior to his surrender, I opened relationships with people serving time at Lompoc, and they agreed to ease some complications that follow for people who first surrendered. While he served his sentence, we communicated every day, collaborating on a manuscript he was writing.
From reading that manuscript, I learned from his perspectives on personal leadership, cryptocurrency, finance, and overcoming personal challenges. Upon his release, CZ extended his gratitude in countless ways. He gave me the treat of a trip to Dubai so that I could experience Binance Blockchain Week, giving me a front-row seat to the global crypto community.
I remain profoundly grateful for all I learned because of the friendship I built with CZ. He is a global leader, now focused on building Giggle Academy, to help children learn and prepare for jobs, regardless of where they live.
As one of the world’s most influential people, CZ attracts attention from world leaders, including many heads of state. Although the United States was not kind to him, he showed interest in our work, and provided generous sponsorship to our nonprofit, which allows us to build a platform that we hope will change one of the great social injustices of our time, and open opportunities for more people to earn freedom.
