INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
CZ, as he's known to cryptophiles, is quickly becoming a fixture in the United Arab Emirates.The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix draws princes, movie
stars and world-famous athletes every year to party on Yas Island, the entertainment hub about 30 minutes from the center of
downtown.Mingling among them last month was a figure charting an unlikely ascent: a former McDonald's burger-flipper and software
Zhao.CZ, as he's known to cryptophiles, is quickly becoming a fixture in the United Arab Emirates, meeting with royalty in Abu Dhabi who
are eager to bring his Binance exchange to the country, according to people with knowledge of the situation
He has scooped up an apartment in Dubai and hosted dinners near the Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building, and on the city's Palm
Zhao, 44, fits right in: His net worth is $96 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index
It's the first time Bloomberg has estimated his fortune, which exceeds Asia's richest person, Mukesh Ambani, and rivals tech titans
including Mark Zuckerberg and Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin.Zhao's fortune could be significantly larger, as the wealth
estimate doesn't take into account his personal crypto holdings, which include Bitcoin and his firm's own token
The so-called Binance Coin surged roughly 1,300% last year.Binance's success underscores the vast riches being created in the unshackled
faces regulatory probes globally
The United States Department of Justice and Internal Revenue Service are investigating whether one entity Zhao controls, Binance Holdings
Ltd., is a conduit for money laundering and tax evasion, according to people with knowledge of the matter
Spokesmen for the DOJ and IRS declined to comment.Binance's future may hinge on whether it can reconcile with the world's regulators and
find a welcoming location to establish its headquarters.For now, though, the money is pouring in.Binance generated at least $20 billion of
revenue last year, according to a Bloomberg analysis of its trading volume and fees
That's almost triple what Wall Street analysts expect Coinbase Global Inc., a publicly traded firm with a market value of $50 billion,
analyst Chris Brendler.Zhao declined to comment for this story, and Binance disputed the accuracy of Bloomberg's estimates of the firm's
and Max Verstappen battle it out on the Yas Marina Circuit, Zhao spoke at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum in Singapore, where he rattled off
the numbers behind the meteoric rise of the firm he created in 2017.In one recent 24-hour span, Binance completed $170 billion of
world, these are gargantuan numbers
billionaire about his wealth during the November interview in Singapore, Zhao demurred
striped tie, added that such matters are a distraction and that he's prepared to give away almost all of his fortune before he
dies.Whether Zhao can hang on to what he's gained remains to be seen, and he has plenty of reason to be concerned about his firm's
manipulation and insider trading within Binance, and whether it illegally allowed United States clients to trade derivatives tied to
cryptocurrencies, according to people familiar with the matter
The CFTC declined to comment.Binance also has been the subject of consumer warnings in the U.K., Japan and Germany, among other countries
30, a Canadian securities regulator reprimanded the company for telling users of its trading platform that it was allowed to continue
the value of digital tokens, which totaled $2.09 trillion on Jan
An increasing number are making the cut as more firms in the industry tap venture-capital funding or public markets, bringing greater
transparency into the value of these businesses.Exchanges such as Coinbase, Gemini, FTX and Kraken have attracted hefty valuations in public
and private markets, and Binance's popularity with users and myriad products may be even more enticing to investors.Crypto fortunes,
Bitcoin has slumped more than 8% this year to about $42,400 and is well below early November's highs of nearly $69,000
Coinbase shares have tumbled about 35% over the past two months.And some businesses have run afoul of regulators
with the CFTC and Financial Crimes Enforcement Network over claims that it allowed illegal derivatives trades and violated anti-money
The firm didn't admit or deny the allegations
Founders Arthur Hayes, Samuel Reed and Ben Delo are awaiting trial after entering not guilty pleas in a separate Justice Department case
that accuses them of violating the Bank Secrecy Act.The Bloomberg Billionaires Index estimated Binance's 2021 revenue using its United
States dollar-denominated spot and derivatives exchange volumes as published by industry researchers Coingecko and Nomics, and its
The calculation doesn't include the firm's other revenue sources, such as margin lending, technology, consulting and NFTs
It's valued using the enterprise value-to-sales multiple of publicly traded peers
It assumes Zhao owns 90% of the firm, based on his public statements and regulatory filings in jurisdictions where that information is
required to be disclosed.Binance's revenue is realized across hundreds of crypto tokens, which the firm doesn't convert to traditional
a Canadian citizen, was born in China's Jiangsu province
His father, a university professor, was exiled to the countryside during the Cultural Revolution and, when CZ was 12, moved the family to
a friendly poker game with Bobby Lee, then CEO of BTC China, and investor Ron Cao, who both encouraged him to put 10% of his net worth into
In 2017, he founded Binance (a portmanteau of binary and finance) and it quickly blossomed into a crypto powerhouse
Ethereum and have become some of the most speculative corners of the market
The firm offers trading in more than 350 coins on its international exchange, more than double of what's offered by Coinbase, according to
nothing more than an email address
It focused on crypto-to-crypto transactions, limiting its interactions with traditional banks and their regulators
In August, the company announced that all new users must verify their identity, and existing users who haven't will be limited to
withdrawals.It has never had a formal headquarters
Binance was founded in China, banished to Japan and self-exiled to Malta, whose financial regulator later denied having oversight of the
While the firm has a major presence in Singapore, it was dealt a setback last month when its local unit withdrew an application to run an
company's headquarters was wherever he happened to be
In legal filings, the firm's lawyers have said that it's incorporated in the Cayman Islands, which is well-known for being an offshore
tax and regulatory haven.Binance's ability to operate just about anywhere has made it difficult for regulators to establish jurisdiction
to raise money from outside investors, who typically want some measure of government oversight as an assurance that a business is legally
Zhao is driven to find a supportive regulatory regime, according to people familiar with his discussions in the UAE.Binance has been filling
senior posts with former employees of UAE regulators, and it signed an agreement with the Dubai World Trade Centre authority to help craft a
crypto regulatory framework.Not all of Binance's efforts to ingratiate itself to regulators have gone smoothly.Last year, Binance.US, a
separately managed trading operation associated with the exchange, hired a former United States acting comptroller of the currency as CEO
His appointment was seen as a positive step toward addressing regulatory concerns, but he lasted just three months, departing in August
after citing differences over strategic direction.Despite its legal challenges, investors may be tempted to take a chance on the world's
most successful crypto exchange
Late last year, Binance was seeking to raise money from sovereign wealth funds, and its United States affiliate was also pursuing investors
with the goal of an initial public offering
would make Zhao even richer than Elon Musk, currently the world's wealthiest person, and No
