Original author: Jessica Zhao
Original source: storage.courtlistener.com
CZ’s sister, former Morgan Stanley managing director Jessica Zhao, said that although her brother made mistakes, he worked hard to help others in his life. At the same time, she mentioned the example of the FTX incident and emphasized that CZ Binance has never abused any Client Funds. The following is the full text of the plea letter:
I am Changpeng Zhao's sister and a former Managing Director at Morgan Stanley. I am writing to share my thoughts on Changpeng Zhao as a person.
Changpeng and I grew up together. As a child, he was always kind, curious, and active. Growing up, he had many interests, mainly sports and technology, and he loved using his skills to help others. When we were in high school in Vancouver, he served as the captain of the school's men's volleyball team for 5 consecutive years. At the same time, he also served as an assistant coach for the women's volleyball team. He devoted himself to volleyball, and his team became one of the most respected high school teams in Vancouver, and Changpeng himself made the Vancouver City Team and was named the Most Valuable Player for several consecutive years.
Later, I saw the same dedication and passion in Changpeng's career. Before Binance, he had run several startups. Although not as successful as Binance, he was passionate about each project and used technology to create the most value for customers. Going through many challenges, he regarded every setback as a learning opportunity and never gave up.
To this day, Changpeng still sees himself as a simple technician. His business approach is very simple — we create value for customers and revenue will follow naturally. This mentality has never changed since his first startup in 2005. When others propose "alternative business practices" to him, his answer is always: "That game is too complicated for me. I don't have the time and energy to deal with it. I would rather remain a simple technician."
I remember one thing very clearly. In early 2016, before Binance existed, a business acquaintance approached him with a proposal for a partnership, with Changpeng providing the technology and the guy providing a license to operate an online platform that would allow people to bet on random items. It seemed like a low-risk, quick-money opportunity, but Changpeng turned it down. He told me about it over a family dinner. He said, "I don't see any value in this. It's just making a quick buck by exploiting people who can't think clearly. I'd rather spend my time on more meaningful things." I felt very proud when he said this.
After I retired from Morgan Stanley, I became a leadership and management consultant. In the early days of Binance, I provided short-term group coaching services to the team, and I had the opportunity to observe how meetings were conducted and how decisions were made. The overall guiding principle that Changpeng set for the team has always been to provide the best value to the customer. In every discussion, there were two main considerations: protecting the security of customer funds and providing the best service. I witnessed some deals being debated and abandoned because the team felt that the potential project did not meet the criteria for creating customer value. I saw the team discuss some practices adopted by competitors and decide not to adopt them because they felt that customer interests were not best served. I believe that the same guiding principle is still very dominant and active in Binance culture today.
After the FTX incident in 2022, there were large withdrawals on the Binance platform. When I spoke to Changpeng on the phone, he was very relaxed about it. He said that all customer funds were in their own accounts; they could withdraw as much as they wanted, and it would not cause any financial pressure on Binance. The real stress test was on the technical side, that is, whether the system could handle such a large number of transactions. "Technology is our business, and we have an excellent team." Sure enough, Binance processed the withdrawals without any problems, both financially and technically. Binance has never misused any customer funds. Changpeng has never hurt anyone and always stayed true to his values and did good things for the community.
On a personal level, Changpeng has been a supportive brother and a loving uncle to my son. Changpeng is a brother I can count on when I need him. He is also my best friend, and I trust him unconditionally. Having him as my brother is one of the best things in my life, and I am so grateful for it.
My son showed an interest in technology from a very young age. Changpeng fondly commented, “He’s geeky, just like me.” The two of them had a lot of fun. After his success on Binance, I asked Changpeng what he bought himself now that he was rich. He said, “A new drone.” On weekends, he would take my son to the park, teach him to fly a drone, and take videos of the surrounding scenery. These are some of my son’s fondest memories of his childhood. As my son grew up, he began to play with tech gadgets such as Raspberry Pi and Arduino boards, and he also developed a keen interest in cybersecurity. Changpeng often communicated with my son on these topics and encouraged him to continue to explore them in depth. For my son, “Uncle” Changpeng is one of his favorite people in the world.
Changpeng has certainly made mistakes in the U.S. regulatory environment, and he will no doubt learn from those experiences. However, he has always seemed to me to be a man who sets high standards for himself, strives to do good for others, and derives tremendous personal pride and self-esteem from doing so. Even after achieving success and fame in the crypto industry, he remains a humble, simple, warm, caring, and loving individual, both personally and professionally.