Binance CEO Becomes One of the World’s Biggest Fortunes

The young story of the cryptocurrency has several legends, starting with that of Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of Bitcoin, whose real identity is still unknown, or Roger Ver that some have baptized the ” Bitcoin Jesus ”, an American who went into exile in Japan from where he worked hard to promote this currency. Yet the one who has been nicknamed CZ by his initials – his name is Changpeng Zhao – has probably become the greatest living legend in the field.

Zhao was born in China but his family emigrated to Canada in the 1980s. From the beginning of 2014, Changpeng Zhao distinguished himself by selling his house in order to buy his first bitcoins. Having worked for the Tokyo Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange, as well as at Bloomberg, Zhao became familiar with traditional stock trading platforms and he was quick to see the potential of Bitcoin.

Forbes cover

In July 2017, Changpeng Zhao launched the exchange (platform) Binance from China through an ICO, or the launch of a project in the form appropriate to cryptocurrencies. It only takes a few months for Binance to establish itself as one of the most popular exchanges in the world and as a result, Zhao Changpeng becomes a billionaire in a few months. Rarely, he has the honor of the cover of Forbes in February 2018.

As of April 2018, Binance became the # 1 exchange in the world by matter of volume of transactions. It will become the exchange with the most users – over 28 million as of October 2021.

Binance’s woes

Of course, things haven’t always been rosy for Binance. First, in 2019, the exchange was hacked by $ 50 million – which it duly refunded to its users. At the same time, China has wreaked havoc on Binance, forcing it to move its headquarters to Taiwan, then to Malta and finally to Abu Dhabi – France has even, for a time, been considered and a potential head office has been reserved for Montrouge. Then, in May 2021, Binance was investigated by the US tax authorities, suspecting the site of being used for illicit activities. And very recently, it was Ontario (Canada) that put a strain on Binance, believing that the company was not authorized to operate there.

However, these setbacks do not appear to hamper the progress of Binance. His token, the BNB saw its value increase by 1,300% the previous year and it appears in the Top 5 of global cryptocurrencies. Its founder Changpeng Zhao is often received in the manner of a head of state as in the United Arab Emirates where members of the Abu Dhabi royalty were delighted to meet him.

A fortune greater than that of Michael Dell or François Pinault

And then, the news broke at Bloomberg : With a fortune of 100 billion dollars, CZ became the 1^D global cryptocurrency fortune.

The most astonishing is elsewhere: Changpeng Zhao’s fortune is no longer far removed from that of high-tech legends such as Mark Zuckerberg ($ 117.5 billion), founder of Facebook, or Larry Page (117.3 billion) or Sergey Brin (113.1 billion), the two founders of Google. And he offers himself the luxury of overtaking magnates such as Michael Dell (57.4 billion), founder of the brand ofcomputers Who gate his name, or the French businessman François Pinault (51.38 billion).