Who is the world's richest Chinese? Currently, it's Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. Born in Taiwan, Huang, 62, has seen his net worth soar to $151.4 billion, ranking him ninth globally, thanks to the AI boom. Who is the richest Chinese born in mainland China? It's 48-year-old Changpeng Zhao, with a net worth of $75.3 billion, ranking him 22nd globally, $1.7 billion more than Zhong Shanshan, who ranks 24th. Born in 1975, Zhao Changpeng is relatively young among the world's self-made billionaires. He also boasts a life experience rarely seen by other billionaires: he was the richest prisoner in human history. Just last April, Zhao Changpeng was sentenced to four months in prison in the United States, where he even shared a cell with a double murderer. Recently, Zhao Changpeng returned to China. In late August, he made two public appearances in Hong Kong: on the 27th, he appeared at the University of Hong Kong, where he spoke in Chinese with Vice President Lin Chen at the "Crypto Finance Forum 2025." On the 29th, he attended the "Asia Bitcoin Conference" in Hong Kong, where he spoke in English with Tyler Evans, co-founder of Bitcoin Magazine and organizer of the conference. Official materials listed Eric Trump as the main guest of the "Asia Bitcoin Conference." Indeed, he is the second son of the current US President and is considered the most knowledgeable member of the Trump family about cryptocurrency. The conference's second guest of honor was Changpeng Zhao. In front of numerous cryptocurrency practitioners and enthusiasts, he spoke eloquently in English, with the ease that comes from absolute financial freedom. Of course, the current shift in global cryptocurrency regulation has also put him at ease—in this sense, Zhao Changpeng's high-profile return to China holds symbolic significance. From prisoner to guest of honor: "The previous US administration wasn't particularly smart." During a Chinese dialogue at the University of Hong Kong on the 27th, Zhao Changpeng uttered this statement, drawing laughter from the audience. "I have the right to say this," Zhao Changpeng continued, to applause and laughter. Just a year ago, Zhao Changpeng was imprisoned in the United States. After the Trump administration came to power, the US government's stance on cryptocurrencies underwent a U-turn, and policies within major economies around the world began to become ambiguous or even loosen. Now, Zhao Changpeng has become a globally sought-after figure. Zhao Changpeng continued, "But this administration is very smart. They have a business background and understand that Tether helps solidify the dollar's global importance and expands the dollar's and the US's influence in the global monetary sphere." Tether is currently the largest issuer of the stablecoin USDT. Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies that maintain a relatively stable value by being pegged to specific assets such as fiat currencies and gold. Tether's USDT is pegged 1:1 to the US dollar, balancing currency stability with the high liquidity of cryptocurrencies. Why are stablecoins backed by the US dollar? Changpeng Zhao mentioned a statistic at the event: "Over $100 billion in USDT funds are currently being used to purchase U.S. Treasury bonds." This is a remarkably high percentage. As of September 2nd, the total value of USDT, the world's third-largest cryptocurrency, was approximately $168 billion. As the former richest Chinese, Zhao Changpeng naturally brought up the topic of RMB internationalization: "One of China's key goals is to enhance the RMB's international influence, and stablecoins align perfectly with this goal." Within China, Hong Kong is currently serving as a testing ground for cryptocurrency. On May 21, 2025, the Hong Kong Legislative Council passed the draft Stablecoin Ordinance, which will officially take effect on August 1st. The Ordinance clarifies that issuing fiat stablecoins in Hong Kong, or issuing stablecoins claiming to be pegged to the Hong Kong dollar, within or outside of Hong Kong, requires a Hong Kong license. This effectively brings stablecoins under regulatory oversight while granting them legal status. Although the Hong Kong Monetary Authority stated that only a few stablecoin licenses would be granted in the first phase, starting in early 2026, 77 institutions had already "expressed their intention to apply for stablecoin licenses" between the opening of applications in early August and the 31st. These included prominent names—including Hong Kong dollar-issuing banks like Bank of China (Hong Kong) and Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong)—as well as tech giants like Ant, JD.com, and Xiaomi. The market is hot and competitive, and it is against this backdrop that Changpeng Zhao has reappeared in Hong Kong. The Biggest Winner in Cryptocurrency: Zhao Changpeng was born in Lianyungang, Jiangsu Province in 1977. He later immigrated to Canada with his family and joined the Tokyo Stock Exchange as a software engineer before graduating from university. He once recalled that if he had waited until he had obtained his degree to look for a job, he might have missed out on such a job opportunity. In 2005, he returned to China and started a business in Shanghai, initially developing high-frequency trading systems. In 2013, Zhao Changpeng first encountered Bitcoin; the following year, he made a seemingly rash decision: selling his property in Shanghai and investing all his money in Bitcoin. Whether in work or investing, his willingness to take a gamble when he sees a good opportunity is perhaps part of his character. Zhao Changpeng's wealth peaked in 2021: with a net worth of $94.1 billion, he became the world's richest Chinese person—just four years after he founded Binance, a cryptocurrency exchange in Shanghai. Cryptocurrency exchanges are platforms for buying and selling cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. Indeed, it is precisely because of these platforms that cryptocurrencies have evolved from theoretical "digital assets" into tradable and liquid wealth for ordinary people. Of course, this also made him, the "boss" of the exchange, a lucrative business. According to Zhao Changpeng at the University of Hong Kong on August 27th, "The two most profitable businesses in this (cryptocurrency) industry are probably stablecoins and exchanges." How exactly do these two businesses make money? Stablecoin issuers earn capital gains: When users redeem stablecoins, they deposit a reserve fund with the issuer. This money, deposited into the issuer's account, can be used to generate returns (such as by purchasing U.S. Treasury bonds). As for exchanges, profits primarily come from transaction fees and listing fees for projects on the platform. The larger the cryptocurrency industry, the greater the profit margins for exchanges, as the industry's "infrastructure." Binance, founded by Zhao Changpeng, is not only the world's largest exchange but also issues its own cryptocurrency, BNB (Binance Coin). Furthermore, Zhao Changpeng once revealed that 99% of his personal wealth is held in cryptocurrency, and his net worth has skyrocketed exponentially with the appreciation of cryptocurrencies, even becoming the world's richest Chinese person. Blessed by his wealth, he became an icon for the entire industry. The US hurdle is the most challenging. However, the cryptocurrency industry, based on blockchain and decentralization, presents a significant conflict with the traditional centralized monetary and financial systems controlled by governments and central banks. Fears of loss of control, the undermining of fiat currencies, and suspicions of "Ponzi schemes" were once common attitudes among many governments towards cryptocurrencies. He who wears the crown must bear its weight. After founding Binance, Zhao Changpeng's life, along with the escalating global regulation of cryptocurrencies, forced him to embark on a global journey. In early 2018, Binance announced it would cease services for mainland Chinese users. Zhao Changpeng initially considered relocating Binance to Japan, where he had previously worked, but was soon ordered to leave by the Japanese Financial Services Agency. He subsequently tried numerous locations, including Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malta, Bermuda, Jersey, and Singapore. Ultimately, Binance itself decentralized, no longer declaring an official headquarters. Zhao Changpeng himself chose to settle in the United Arab Emirates, breaking with his reputation for not buying property. In 2021, he purchased a 1,077.68-square-meter, six-bedroom mansion in Dubai for $13.5 million. Many Arab countries are wealthy due to their oil wealth, but religious traditions prohibit interest payments in their financial systems, which are often based on interest. This often leads to a greater tolerance for various "financial innovations." But of the 9981 difficulties, the United States proved to be the most challenging. The United States is the world's largest cryptocurrency market. For a long time, however, Binance chose to "build a front in public while secretly moving forward": On the surface, Binance launched an independent "Binance US" platform, separate from the Binance global platform and fully complying with then-current US regulatory requirements. However, Binance also briefly allowed US users to bypass geographical restrictions or provide proof of not being in the US to trade directly on the Binance global platform. US prosecutors gathered evidence and requested Binance and Changpeng Zhao cooperate with the investigation. In November 2023, Changpeng Zhao "voluntarily" traveled to the United States from the UAE, signing a plea agreement and resigning as Binance CEO. However, he remained prohibited from leaving the country and awaited trial. In April 2024, he was sentenced in Seattle; fines of over $4 billion were levied against him and Binance, setting a record in the history of the United States. At the end of September 2024, Zhao Changpeng was released from prison and quietly returned to his home in the UAE. In early November of the same year, after Trump's election victory, Zhao Changpeng began to become active again both online and offline. "The fewer restrictions, the better for the global economy." Trump's reversal of attitude toward cryptocurrency was also quite dramatic. At one point, he said, "Bitcoin looks like a scam. I don't like it." But in July 2024, during his campaign for a second presidential term, Trump personally attended the Bitcoin 2024 conference and loudly declared, "We will ensure that the United States becomes the cryptocurrency capital and Bitcoin superpower on Earth." Trump kept his promise. On March 6, 2025, Trump announced the establishment of the United States Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. The next day, Trump hosted the "First White House Crypto Summit", at which Treasury Secretary Scott Besant said: "We will maintain the United States' position as the world's major reserve currency, and we will use stablecoins to do this."
At Trump's urging, the "Guidance and Establishment of a U.S. Stablecoin National Innovation Act" came into effect on July 18, ahead of China (Hong Kong's "Stablecoin Ordinance" came into effect on August 1).
During the English dialogue at the Asian Bitcoin Conference on the 29th, Zhao Changpeng said: "To be honest, I was actually quite surprised that the United States could advance these measures so quickly. I have to give a thumbs up to Trump's governance!"
Zhao Changpeng naturally understood that this was a global trend: "I know that the UAE is planning to make further progress and make policies more friendly and innovative to the encryption field; Hong Kong, China is also gradually opening up; three days ago when I was in Tokyo, I also learned that Japan is vigorously embracing cryptocurrencies."
He is also very clear about the logic behind it: "The United States is now leading regulators and leaders around the world to pay attention to cryptocurrencies and blockchain, which is great for the industry!"
The regulatory rules that put Zhao Changpeng in jail have also been overturned. Changpeng Zhao said in English: "Just yesterday or this morning, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission announced that it may allow U.S. citizens to trade (cryptocurrency) on international platforms." "Ideally, anyone should be able to trade with anyone else, and anyone should be able to invest or raise funds globally." This biggest beneficiary of blockchain decentralization is inevitably a supporter of the free economy. "The fewer restrictions, the better the global economy will be," said Changpeng Zhao.
Catherine
Weatherly
Kikyo
Anais
Joy
Alex