From McDonald's to crypto exchanges. 5 Facts about Binance Founder Changpeng Zhao

US President Donald Trump has pardoned Changpeng Zhao, the founder of Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange, who was called a victim of the Biden administration's "war on cryptocurrencies." A year ago, a Chinese crypto billionaire was released from prison, and a pardon will allow him to return to the US markets. What is known about Zhangpeng Zhao is in the Izvestia article.

Fact 1. I learned programming languages early.

In an interview with Bloomberg, where he worked at one time, Changpeng said that his father bought his first computer when his son was 12 or 13 years old. It was a PC 286, which then cost them 7 thousand Canadian dollars ($5,570). At that time, to help his family, the boy sold hamburgers at McDonald's, and worked at night at gas stations.

According to the founder of the crypto exchange, it was his father who taught him how to program: he was a geophysicist programmer and knew the languages Fortran, Pascal and others. He taught his son the basics of these languages, although the teenager did not take his hobby seriously. But at the age of 16-17, he took programming courses, and noted that he "really liked them."

Fact 2. I paid attention to bitcoin thanks to poker

Changpeng built a career in trading, working for a Japanese company that outsourced work for the Tokyo Stock Exchange. And in 2013, while sitting over a poker game with the CEO of the Chinese crypto exchange BTC China (now BTC & Crypto, BTCC) Bobby Lee and his investor, I heard the idea of investing in bitcoin. Bobby Lee noted that it is worth converting 10% of the capital into bitcoin, since "there is a very small chance that it will fall to zero and you will lose this 10%. There is a high probability that it will grow 10 times, and then your capital will double."

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Changpeng started by studying the bitcoin whitepaper and acquiring a small number of virtual coins, which he said he was just playing with for a while. At that time, the bulk of his capital was invested in an apartment in Shanghai. Then he sold real estate to buy bitcoins, after which he quit his job and joined the startup team. Blockchain.info .

Fact 3. Made the Crypto market Friendly

• In 2017, bitcoin buyers had virtually no user service, and websites were slow. Changpeng set out to improve the user interface, speed up customer service, as well as reduce fees and switch completely to cryptocurrency. Having gained experience working with electronic wallets and worked for a year as the technical director of the OKCoin crypto exchange, Changpeng decided to create his own company, which became the largest in the cryptocurrency market.

• By the time Binance was launched in 2017, he turned 40 years old. In his interviews, he claimed that the crypto exchange at that time applied the strictest protocols to combat money laundering. However, in 2023, the US Department of Justice still charged him with money laundering and sanctions violations. In total, Changpeng spent four months behind bars, he was released in September 2024, having fully served his sentence.

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Fact 4. The billionaire is a recluse

Even before his arrest, Changpeng Zhao led a reclusive lifestyle and carefully concealed his personal life. On October 7, Forbes estimated his net worth at $89.7 billion — in just six months after his release, he increased his income by 42%. According to the publication, Changpeng owns 90% of the Binance exchange and 94 million BNB, which is 64% of all existing tokens of the crypto exchange. Changpeng himself disputed these figures and said they were overstated.

Fact 5. Advises the governments of Pakistan and Kyrgyzstan on cryptocurrencies

• In April of this year, Changpeng Zhao became a strategic advisor to the Pakistan Council on Cryptocurrencies and a consultant to the Government of Kyrgyzstan on cryptocurrencies and blockchain. He provides recommendations to the Pakistani government on regulating the crypto market, creating and implementing digital assets, and in Kyrgyzstan provides technical support for infrastructure and participates in educational programs.