CZSTATUE Token Surges as Mystery Backers Emerge
Four unnamed individuals reportedly contributed around $50,000 to commission a 14-foot statue of Changpeng Zhao (aka “CZ”). According to organiser Nick Zee, the sculpture was produced in just four weeks using a CNC machine to mill dense foam blocks into the figure. The statue depicts Zhao’s signature four-finger gesture — a reference to his 2023 public vow to “ignore fear, uncertainty, and doubt” amid regulatory pressure.
Zee says the statue will be publicly exhibited for several hours, after which it will either be presented to Zhao or auctioned off, with proceeds directed to Giggle Academy — a non-profit educational organisation Zhao established following his 2024 guilty plea on anti-money-laundering charges.
Zee connected the funding initiative to what he described as “unjust attacks” on Zhao, the recent rise in the price of the BNB token, and the presidential pardon. Nonetheless, the backers’ identities and the origin of the $50,000 remain undisclosed. Meanwhile, Binance has stated it has no formal involvement with the statue project.
Meme Token Launch Raises Transparency Questions
A meme token with the ticker CZSTATUE was reportedly issued on the BNB Chain in connection with the statue project. Reports indicate the token achieved a market-capitalisation of around $577,000 as of October 28.
Crypto analysts flagged unusual trading behaviour coinciding with the pardon announcement. One analyst, NihonNinjaTaro, posted on X:
“A mysterious whale wallet earned $57K in hours on CZ pardon-related tokens.”
He added:
“Pattern is UNDENIABLE. Watch this wallet = watch the market.”
This dynamic underscores the fact that the token issuance appears to represent the principal financial dimension of the initiative: the $577,000 market cap far exceeds the $50,000 statue production cost. Yet the identity of the token’s issuer, its ownership structure and how (or if) revenue flows to the backers or to Giggle Academy remain opaque — prompting questions over transparency and investor protection.
The launch also belongs to a broader trend: meme tokens tethered to public events or figures (for example, a golden statue of Donald Trump holding Bitcoin, erected at the U.S. Capitol) are increasingly used to raise speculative capital quickly — a development that may draw regulatory scrutiny.
Pardon Timing and Political Ramifications
Zhao had pleaded guilty in November 2023 to charges of failing to implement a sufficient anti-money-laundering programme at Binance, which settled related investigations with U.S. authorities for approximately $4.3 billion. He served about four months in prison in 2024.
On October 23, 2025, President Donald Trump granted Zhao a full presidential pardon. The White House characterised the action as part of a reset in U.S. crypto policy. Critics, including Senator Elizabeth Warren, accused the pardon of appearing politicised, given Zhao’s prior involvement with entities tied to the Trump family’s crypto ventures.
Zhao expressed his gratitude publicly, declaring he would “do everything we can to help make America the Capital of Crypto”. The timing of the statue project, the token launch and the pardon package together evoke questions about branding, influence and the blurred boundary between regulation, philanthropy and speculative finance.
