In May 2025, in broad daylight in Paris, there was a violent assault on the street:
On the narrow sidewalk of the 11th district of Paris, a woman on the ground is screaming for help, while her husband tightly holds onto her, using his body to shield her from the attackers, blood all over his head. Three masked assailants are trying to pull the woman into a white van marked with a delivery company's logo.
This is the right bank of the Seine River in downtown Paris, the most densely populated area, where there are already some pedestrians on the streets at 8 a.m. Some people stop to watch and quickly notice something unusual. A few people begin to try to come forward to rescue, one brave person grabs a red fire extinguisher and rushes towards the attacker. Seeing the situation was not good, the three assailants hurriedly let go and scattered, jumping into a van and quickly fleeing the scene.
This was an attempted kidnapping that occurred on the streets of Paris last Tuesday. The woman the assailants attempted to kidnap is the daughter of Pierre Noize, co-founder and CEO of the French cryptocurrency trading platform Paymium, and she is currently five months pregnant.
The astronomical wealth created by cryptocurrencies, combined with their inherent anonymity and difficulty to trace, makes them particularly suitable for 'ransom,' turning cryptocurrency industry executives and their families into 'mobile ATMs' in the eyes of criminals.
Related cases have occurred multiple times in various countries around the world. Just earlier this month, the father of a cryptocurrency executive was kidnapped in the 14th district of Paris. Although French police rescued the victim two days later, he lost a finger.
For this, Zhao Changpeng, who once became the richest Chinese person in the world and remains the richest person in Canada, cannot help but empathize. The day after the incident, this cryptocurrency giant, currently worth $30.2 billion (217.7 billion RMB), shared the news on social media with a brief comment:
'Stay safe out there.'
Cryptocurrency tycoons are not just 'cash cows' for criminals.
Last May, after promising to pay billions in settlement (the highest amount since the founding of the United States), Zhao Changpeng was still sentenced to four months in prison in the U.S.—this was already a 'victory,' as U.S. federal prosecutors sought a three-year sentence for him.
After being released from prison on September 28 last year, he posted 'gm' (Good Morning) on social media, which created 19.48 million views with just two letters. For a period of time thereafter, Zhao Changpeng was relatively low-key. His 'silence' even led to fake accounts imitating him and AI-generated fake videos appearing on social media.
As part of the plea agreement signed with the U.S., Zhao Changpeng resigned as CEO of Binance and promised not to participate in any activities related to Binance for three years. On November 6, the day the U.S. election results were announced, Zhao Changpeng posted 'gm' again on social media. At that time, these two letters naturally took on more meaning, such as 'Great Moment.'
The new U.S. government has taken a clear stance on cryptocurrencies, and Zhao Changpeng's public activities and voice on social media have gradually increased—he has now resumed posting several tweets a day and is no longer shy about directly mentioning Binance.
Not long ago, in early May, Zhao Changpeng rarely accepted a face-to-face interview with an online media outlet. In this interview, Zhao Changpeng talked about his 'lessons':
'I used to be indifferent to geopolitical issues, but now I deeply realize that the influence of political agendas has long seeped into individual lives and can even lead to imprisonment. With such a lesson, I am now more cautious in my actions. After being released, I spent several months fully resting, turning down all activities, and gradually re-engaging in social affairs after a period of time.'
As a benchmark figure in the cryptocurrency field, amid the surging waves of money and desire, Zhao Changpeng finds it difficult to stay truly detached.
In early April this year, several foreign media reported that Zhao Changpeng had been trying to urge the Trump administration to grant him a pardon. Reports also cited insiders saying that as part of a plea agreement, Zhao Changpeng provided evidence of Sun Yuchen's illegal activities to U.S. prosecutors and agreed to testify.
Sun Yuchen is also an important figure in the cryptocurrency field and one of those who achieved 'financial freedom' through cryptocurrency. Compared to Zhao Changpeng's astonishing wealth, Sun Yuchen's label is that of a 'master' of hype and marketing in the cryptocurrency circle, having once bought a lunch with Warren Buffett, 'saved' a Trump cryptocurrency project, and even purchased Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan's installation art (a banana taped to a wall) for $6.2 million, which he ate live on stream.
Zhao Changpeng responded immediately to the news that he 'betrayed' Sun Yuchen, saying 'they seem to have forgotten who went to prison and who didn't. Those who become government witnesses do not go to prison but are protected,' and mentioned that someone paid to 'slander me.'
Therefore, in early May, Zhao Changpeng made an appearance for an interview, and some believe one of his purposes was to personally clarify the negative news. During the interview, when asked about media reports saying he 'betrayed other cryptocurrency founders in prison to reduce his sentence,' Zhao Changpeng talked extensively about the problems with traditional media in response. He believes that 'the previous party (Democrats) failed in the election' indicates that 'people no longer believe those articles.'
Moreover, Zhao Changpeng himself holds a 'weapon' of social media: 'Although these negative reports are still annoying, at least we have our own platform to express our true opinions.' His confidence comes from his personal account on X, which has 10 million followers—while the official account of the White House only has 1.89 million followers. Zhao Changpeng said, 'I probably have more followers than most politicians, and Elon (Musk) has even more followers, and President Trump even more.'
But to completely quell this wave of public opinion, Zhao Changpeng says he hasn't said enough. Because up until now, he has not firmly denied the core controversies, such as 'I have never provided evidence.'
As the richest prisoner in U.S. history, Zhao Changpeng's life in prison has always fascinated the outside world. He rarely talks about this special experience.
Remarkably, in this interview in May, Zhao Changpeng specifically recalled this experience: 'It was really hard to endure at that time.' 'Although I have strong pressure resistance and a stable personality, the situation at that time truly made it very difficult for me.'
'No one in prison cares who you are, they just treat you as an ordinary prisoner.' Zhao Changpeng said he was not treated specially in prison: 'For example, undergoing strip searches, showing my buttocks, being locked in a cell, my first roommate was a double murderer.'
Zhao Changpeng recalled that this roommate was sentenced to 30 years for killing two people and has served 12 years. 'Because prisons are grouped by race, Asians and Pacific Islanders, as well as Native Americans, are placed in one group, so I lived with this Native American roommate for a few weeks, and we got along very well.' 'But going through all this was really not fun, it was very scary, I was very afraid at the time.'
Zhao Changpeng's description is like the portrayal of a federal prison in a movie: the cell block has three tiers, with two rows of cells facing each other, and in between is an activity area for 240 prisoners. 'As soon as you walk in, you will see many big guys with tattoos, tattoos on their faces and heads, shouting at each other, looking very fierce.'
Zhao Changpeng vividly remembers the first scene of entering prison: 'The prison guard told me my cell was on the first floor, A5. I walked over to try to open the door, but found it was locked. A big man came over and told me that the door needed to be opened by the prison guard.'
Zhao Changpeng was not 'bullied' in prison. He said, 'These prisoners look fierce, but they are actually very polite and friendly. Upon deeper contact, you will find that each of them has a gentle side. I got along very harmoniously with fellow inmates and prison guards.'
'You can make friends anywhere, there are good people everywhere. Some people have indeed made mistakes, but the punishment is too harsh, it is excessive punishment.' He even made friends in prison: 'I still keep in touch with some people who are still serving time.'
In fact, Zhao Changpeng was most worried about whether he could gain freedom as scheduled after his four-month sentence:
'I always worry that they will find some reason to keep me locked up for a few more months, or even add extra charges. Many prisoners have encountered such situations.' Zhao Changpeng was also very clear afterward that this was a psychological issue arising from such a high-pressure environment in prison: 'If I had been clearly told from the beginning 'you will only be locked up for four months,' I would have thought 'okay, I can get through it.' But inside, there are too many uncertainties, which is very anxiety-inducing.'
Four months of life behind bars has also influenced Zhao Changpeng's values: 'I realized what is most important—health first, then family, and only then work and other things.'
Zhao Changpeng said, 'In prison, you don’t miss gourmet food, nor do you miss a comfortable bed too much, but you will definitely think about your family. You don’t miss money or work, although resigning as CEO of Binance did make me feel sad.'
In November 2023, as part of the plea agreement, Richard Teng, who has a regulatory background from Singapore, succeeded Zhao Changpeng as CEO of Binance. Singapore's attitude towards cryptocurrencies is relatively open and was once a 'safe haven' for cryptocurrency businesses.
Zhao Changpeng is the biggest beneficiary of the cryptocurrency boom. In 2014, Zhao Changpeng sold his house in Shanghai and heavily invested in Bitcoin. In 2017, Zhao Changpeng founded Binance and served as CEO, becoming the richest Chinese person in the world just four years later.
Zhao Changpeng resides mainly in the UAE. In October 2021, he bought a 1,077.68 square meter apartment with six bedrooms in Dubai for $13.5 million. In November 2023, Zhao Changpeng 'voluntarily' went to the U.S. for anti-money laundering and related inspections, but was immediately banned from leaving the U.S. until the end of his sentence at the end of September last year, when he was able to return home to the UAE.
In this interview in May, Zhao Changpeng said he usually works at home, to be precise, on his bed: 'If I sit too long, my back will feel uncomfortable, so I have a laptop stand for use in bed, and I work from bed.'
Currently, Zhao Changpeng's social media profile picture has transformed into one wearing traditional Arab clothing: a pure white robe, with a black cord holding down a white headscarf—hiding his distinctive heart-shaped hairline.
