Binance founder CZ reversed his previous view, now acknowledging that meme coins have utility after Giggle Academy received over $1M in donations.
By Bhushan Akolkar
Editor Julia Sakovich
Updated
3 mins read
Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) has taken a 180-degree turn on meme coins after his edtech venture Giggle Academy secured $1 million in donations. From “meme coins have no utility” to “meme coins have utility”, CZ has completely changed its stance in a year’s time.
Interestingly, Zhao stated that 90% of the contribution came from a meme coin. The latest development comes as speculations are ripe that CZ could be returning to Binance very soon.
He expressed surprise at how a token with only a $5 million market cap generated $900,000 in fees for donations in such a short time. “This will forever change my perception of meme coins. Meme coins have utility,” Zhao commented.
Zhao’s stand on meme coins has completely changed since November 2024, when he said that meme coins are spinning out of control. His comments came when the meme coin sector was buzzing with major activity.
“I am not against memes, but meme coins are getting “a little” weird now. Let’s build real applications using blockchain,” said CZ last year.
The change of heart in Changpeng Zhao’s stand comes as he promotes his free education platform, Giggle Academy.
Commenting on this latest development, popular crypto community member Rune Crypto wrote that he’s hoping that the Giggle meme coin would donate $100 million to the academy by 2026. He asked CZ whether he would like to have some supply of the memecoin.
However, Changpeng Zhao outrightly rejected the proposal.
Nah, I think it's best that I don't hold any. No conflict of interest.
Did you code the smart contract too? How does it work?
— CZ 🔶 BNB (@cz_binance) September 22, 2025
Nevertheless, CZ curiously inquired about how the meme coin works and whether it functions with a smart contract.
Binance founder Changpeng Zhao provided clarity on how donations to his free education platform, Giggle Academy, will be managed. He called it a zero-revenue platform and donations will be used to address that while expanding the platform’s coverage.
Zhao emphasized that all contributions will be made in cryptocurrency, fully on-chain and traceable, with no fiat accepted. He also confirmed that Giggle Academy will convert or sell all received meme coins into major altcoins for operational use.
“While we appreciate the donations, please don’t complain about the selling pressure later,” Zhao cautioned.
BNB price shot a new all-time high of $1,088 over the weekend, amid strong buying activity. BNB remains among the top-performing digital assets currently, as the rest of the altcoins face selling pressure. At the time of writing, BNB price is at $1,026.
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Bhushan is a FinTech enthusiast and holds a good flair in understanding financial markets. His interest in economics and finance draw his attention towards the new emerging Blockchain Technology and Cryptocurrency markets. He is continuously in a learning process and keeps himself motivated by sharing his acquired knowledge. In free time he reads thriller fictions novels and sometimes explore his culinary skills.
