According to a report from Qianzhan.com on December 27, the Bloomberg Billionaires Index was recently updated. After Bitcoin crashed in 2022, it rebounded by a full 160% in 2023. This has caused many rich people in the cryptocurrency industry to lose money this year. Made a lot of money.
According to statistics, Changpeng Zhao, the founder of the cryptocurrency exchange Binance, has topped the list of the richest people in the cryptocurrency industry whose net worth is expected to soar in 2023. His worth is currently estimated to exceed US$37 billion (approximately 263.75 billion yuan at the current exchange rate). . Since this year, Changpeng Zhao’s wealth has increased by US$25 billion (approximately 178.2 billion yuan). This part of the wealth mainly comes from his controlling stake in Binance.
In addition, Changpeng Zhao actually holds some Bitcoin and BNB, but these assets will not be calculated into the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Although Zhao Changpeng's net worth has skyrocketed this year, compared with his peak net worth of nearly US$97 billion (approximately 691.5 billion yuan) in early 2022, Zhao Changpeng's net worth has been cut in half in the past two years.
It is worth mentioning that in November this year, Changpeng Zhao appeared in the federal court in Seattle and admitted to money laundering charges. At that time, he paid a fine of US$50 million. After pleading guilty, Zhao Changpeng paid another $175 million in bail, and the U.S. federal government allowed Zhao Changpeng to return to the United Arab Emirates while on bail.
Not only that, Changpeng Zhao also reached a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice, at the cost of a settlement of US$4.366 billion (approximately 31.2 billion yuan).
On December 18, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission announced a $2.85 billion penalty against Binance and founder Changpeng Zhao.
In various circumstances, Changpeng Zhao paid a total of US$7.216 billion (approximately 51.5 billion yuan) in order to allow Binance to continue operating in the United States.
In fact, the US government has been looking for Zhao Changpeng for many years, but it was the US that found him. Since Changpeng Zhao currently has dual citizenship of the United Arab Emirates and Canada, and the United Arab Emirates and the United States do not have an extradition treaty, and Changpeng Zhao still considers himself a billionaire, if he chooses to return to the United Arab Emirates, there is actually no way for the U.S. government to ensure that he can return to the United Arab Emirates. America's.
Zhao Changpeng knew that he would not be in danger if he hid in the United Arab Emirates, but why did he still have to return to the United States to plead guilty and pay the fine?
According to Ifeng.com Financial Report, some industry insiders said in an interview with Ifeng.com's "Eye of the Storm" that Changpeng Zhao may want to use this method to express his and Binance's sincerity to the U.S. government, that is, to assume corresponding responsibilities and follow-up. Compliance measures will be improved.
But the reality is that an invisible net is quietly tightening, and Zhao Changpeng, who is currently in a gray area, has no way out.
In 2017, my country issued the "Announcement on Preventing Token Issuance Financing Risks", requiring relevant trading platforms to close immediately. After this, Zhao Changpeng immediately left Shanghai and ran to Japan. But what Changpeng Zhao didn't expect was that the Japanese government quickly issued a warning to Changpeng Zhao on the grounds that Binance was not registered in Japan, and Changpeng Zhao was issued an expulsion order from Japan.
Later, Changpeng Zhao targeted Malta because Malta is very friendly to cryptocurrency. In 2016, Malta Prime Minister Muscat also proposed to build Europe into a virtual currency center at a regular meeting of the European Commission, and Muscat also claimed to welcome Binance to come. malta.
Therefore, Changpeng Zhao announced in March 2018 that he would set up his headquarters in Malta. But what is very intriguing is that in 2020, Malta said that Binance was not under its jurisdiction. So, Zhao Changpeng left Malta again.
Later, Changpeng Zhao went to the UK and began eating and drinking with British government officials and legislators, trying to persuade them to accept Binance. However, the British did not buy it, and the British Financial Conduct Authority also made it clear that Binance did not have a headquarters and its operating area was too wide to regulate.
After hitting a wall at every turn, Changpeng Zhao directly stated that Binance would no longer have a headquarters office. No matter where he sat, it would be Binance's office.
In this way, Zhao Changpeng seemed to have disappeared from the world. Even the "world police" the United States could not find Zhao Changpeng.
Why is Zhao Changpeng now willing to show up in the United States and pay the fine? This is because this big man in the currency circle finally understood a truth, or in other words, he had been avoiding a problem before, that is, he did not have a legal identity to engage in Binance. The United States may be able to give him such an opportunity.
IPG chief economist Bowen said that due to the uncertainty of regulatory policies, the development of the cryptocurrency industry will face more challenges. From a long-term perspective, compliance development is still a major trend.
However, will the cunning United States really let Zhao Changpeng get what he wants?
