CZ: Growing Up Poor Was One of My Sources of Motivation

On September 25, 2026, Binance founder CZ said in an interview with When Shift Happens that he did not experience any significant trauma during his childhood, but his family was financially constrained. After immigrating to Canada, his parents worked jobs that paid close to minimum wage for many years. He said that, as a second-generation immigrant, seeing his parents work hard to improve the family’s circumstances, along with comparing himself with peers from wealthier backgrounds, became part of what motivated him to keep pushing forward when he was young.