Changpeng Zhao’s Giggle Academy has raised $3 million in BNB donations, with a surprising 90% of initial funds coming from a meme coin.
Giggle Academy, the new free education project founded by former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, has received significant community support, raising $3 million in donations within 36 hours of its public launch.
The funds were collected entirely in BNB BNB $993.6 24h volatility: 0.6% Market cap: $136.79 B Vol. 24h: $1.49 B and will be managed with full on-chain transparency.
Zhao announced the milestone on Sept. 23 in a post on X (formerly Twitter), expressing his gratitude to the crypto community. He confirmed that all spending related to the project will be publicly viewable on the blockchain.
According to Zhao, this approach demonstrates how crypto can be used to fund important social initiatives like free education for everyone.
$3m #BNB donations received by @GiggleAcademy in 36 hours. 🤯
What a community!https://t.co/MwkY5zStLd
All spendings will be tracked on-chain, and on the @GiggleAcademy website, with notes and purposes.
Crypto could fund free education for all. https://t.co/Gaj7KzgqCg pic.twitter.com/2h7TjbngHA
— CZ 🔶 BNB (@cz_binance) September 23, 2025
A surprising boost from a meme coin
In a surprising development, Zhao revealed that the majority of the initial funding came from an unexpected source. He noted that Giggle Academy received over $1 million in its first 12 hours, and 90% of that amount originated from a single meme coin.
The event prompted CZ to change his stance on meme coins, with the former CEO saying, “This will forever change my perception of meme coins… Meme coins have utility!”
He admitted he did not know who created the coin or how its smart contract was coded but expressed his thanks for the substantial contribution. The donation highlights a unique use case for meme coins, which are often seen as purely speculative assets.
Full transparency and future plans
This new focus on a non-profit venture comes amid recent speculation about CZ returning to Binance, though Zhao has committed to personally funding Giggle Academy’s operational costs.
He clarified that donated funds will not be used to pay employee salaries or cover server costs, making sure they directly support the project’s growth and ability to attract quality content creators.
According to a statement from the project, all donations will be used to incentivize contributors, expand the ecosystem, and promote the platform’s educational content with regular public reports.
Looking ahead, Zhao explained that Giggle Academy will not launch its own token, stating a desire to avoid complicating the free education platform with tokenomics.
Instead, he believes the project can achieve long-term sustainability over the next five to ten years through donations from its alumni network and the general public.
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