After being released from prison in the United States, the former Chinese billionaire had an epiphany

Author: Wen Shijun

Editor: Sun Chunfang

In May 2025, Paris, France, in broad daylight, a violent incident occurred on the street:

On the narrow sidewalk of the 11th arrondissement of Paris, a woman on the ground was screaming for help, while her husband desperately held onto her, shielding her from the attackers, covered in blood. Three masked assailants were trying to drag this woman into a white van marked with a delivery company logo.

This was in the city center of Paris, on the densely populated right bank of the Seine River, where some pedestrians were already on the streets at 8 AM. Some stopped to watch and quickly sensed something was wrong. A few people began to try to intervene, with one brave individual grabbing a red fire extinguisher and charging directly at the attackers. Seeing the situation turn against them, the three assailants hurriedly let go and scattered, jumping into the van and fleeing the scene.

This was an attempted kidnapping that took place on the streets of Paris last Tuesday. The woman the assailants tried to abduct is the daughter of Pierre Noize, co-founder and CEO of the French cryptocurrency exchange Paymium, who is currently five months pregnant.

The astronomical wealth generated by cryptocurrencies, combined with their inherent anonymity and difficulty in tracking, makes them particularly suitable for "ransom," turning cryptocurrency executives and their families into "mobile ATMs" in the eyes of criminals.

Related cases have occurred multiple times in various countries around the world. Earlier this month, the father of a cryptocurrency executive was kidnapped in the 14th arrondissement of Paris, and although French police rescued the victim two days later, he lost a finger.

For Zhao Changpeng, the founder of Binance, who once became the richest Chinese person in the world and is still the richest person in Canada, this incident is particularly resonant. The day after the event, this cryptocurrency mogul, whose net worth is $30.2 billion (approximately 217.7 billion RMB), reposted the news on social media with a brief comment:

"Stay safe out there."

The "Silence" After Prison, Just to Wait for This Day

Cryptocurrency moguls are not only "cash cows" for criminals.

In May of last year, 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. — which was already considered a "victory," as U.S. federal prosecutors sought a three-year sentence.

After being released on September 28 last year, he posted "gm" (Good Morning) on social media, and those two letters garnered 19.48 million views. For a while after that, Zhao Changpeng kept a relatively low profile. Due to his "silence," fake accounts imitating him and AI-generated fake videos appeared on social media.

As part of a plea agreement 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 once again posted "gm" on social media. By then, those two letters had taken on more meanings, such as "Great Moment."

With the new U.S. government's attitude toward cryptocurrencies becoming more "transparent," Zhao Changpeng's public activities and statements on social media gradually increased — he has now returned to posting dozens of tweets a day and no longer avoids directly mentioning Binance.

Earlier this May, Zhao Changpeng rarely gave a face-to-face interview with an online media outlet. In this interview, he talked about his "lessons":

"I used to be indifferent to geopolitical issues, but now I deeply realize that the influence of political agendas has permeated individual lives and can even lead to imprisonment. With this lesson, I am now more cautious in my actions. After being released from prison, I spent several months fully resting, canceling all activities, and gradually re-engaging in social affairs after some time."

Selling Out Sun Yuchen? "Witness" Rumors Attract Attention

As a benchmark figure in the cryptocurrency field, it is difficult for Zhao Changpeng to truly stay out of the waves of money and desire.

In early April this year, several foreign media outlets reported that Zhao Changpeng had been trying to push the Trump administration for a pardon. Reports also cited insiders saying that as part of the 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 is labeled as a "master of hype and marketing" in the crypto world, having once bid for a lunch with Warren Buffett, "rescued" Trump's cryptocurrency project, and purchased Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan's installation art "Comedian" (a banana taped to a wall) for $6.2 million (approximately 44.73 million RMB), eating it live on stream.

Zhao Changpeng quickly responded to the news of him "selling out" Sun Yuchen, stating, "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 was paying to "smear me."

Therefore, Zhao Changpeng's appearance in the interview in early May was seen by some as one of his purposes to personally clarify the unfavorable news. When asked about media reports suggesting he "sold out other cryptocurrency founders to reduce his sentence," Zhao Changpeng responded by discussing the shortcomings of traditional media. He believed that "the previous party (the Democratic Party) losing in the elections" indicated that "people no longer believe those articles."

Moreover, Zhao Changpeng himself holds the "weapon" of social media: "Although these negative reports are still annoying, at least we have our own platform to express our true views." His confidence comes from his personal account on X, which has 10 million followers — the official account of the White House has only 1.89 million followers. Zhao Changpeng said, "My followers may be more than most politicians, and Elon (Musk) has even more, as does President Trump."

However, to completely quell this wave of public opinion, Zhao Changpeng has not said enough. As of now, he has not firmly denied the core controversy, such as "I have never provided evidence."

Roommate is a Double Murderer Sentenced to 30 Years

As the richest prisoner in U.S. history, Zhao Changpeng's life in prison has always intrigued the outside world. He rarely talks about this special experience.

Interestingly, in the May interview, Zhao Changpeng specifically recalled this experience: "It was really hard to endure at that time." "Although I have a strong ability to withstand pressure and a relatively calm personality, the situation at that time made it genuinely difficult for me."

"In prison, no one cares who you are; you are just treated as an ordinary prisoner." Zhao Changpeng said he was not treated specially in prison: "For example, I experienced strip searches, had to show my buttocks, and was 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 in one incident and had already served 12 years. "Because prisoners are grouped by race, Asians and Pacific Islanders, along with Native Americans, were grouped together, so I lived with this Native American roommate for a few weeks, but we got along very well." "But going through all this was really not fun; it was scary, and I was very afraid at that time."

Zhao Changpeng's description resembles the scenes depicted in movies about U.S. federal prisons: the cell block has three levels, with two rows of cells facing each other, and a common area for 240 prisoners in the middle. "As soon as you walk in, you see a lot of 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 guard told me that my cell was A5 on the first floor. I walked over to open the door, only to find it was locked. A big guy came over and told me that the door needed to be opened by the 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 well with my cellmates and the guards."

"You can make friends anywhere, and there are good people everywhere. Some people have indeed made mistakes, but the punishment is too harsh and constitutes excessive punishment." He even made friends in prison: "I still keep in touch with some people who are still serving their sentences."

Insights After Prison: Health First, Then Family

In fact, during his time in prison, Zhao Changpeng was most worried about whether he would be able to gain freedom as scheduled after his four-month sentence:

"I was always worried that they would find some random reason to keep me for a few more months or even add extra charges. Many prisoners have encountered such situations." Zhao Changpeng later realized that this was a psychological issue arising from the high-pressure environment of prison: "If I had been clearly told from the beginning that 'you will only be locked up for four months,' I would have thought, 'Okay, I can get through this.' But inside, too many things are uncertain, which is very anxiety-inducing."

The four months of life behind bars 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, and you don't think too much about a comfortable bed, but you will definitely miss your family. You won'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 in Singapore, succeeded Zhao Changpeng as CEO of Binance. Singapore has a relatively open attitude toward cryptocurrencies and was once a "safe haven" for cryptocurrency businesses.

Zhao Changpeng is the biggest beneficiary of the cryptocurrency boom. In 2014, he sold his house in Shanghai and invested heavily in Bitcoin. In 2017, he 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 purchased 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 investigations but was immediately prohibited from leaving the U.S. until the end of his sentence in late September of last year, when he was able to return to his home in the UAE.

In the May interview, Zhao Changpeng mentioned that he generally works from home, specifically from bed: "If I sit for too long, my back will hurt, so I have a laptop stand for use in bed, and I work from there."

Currently, Zhao Changpeng's social media profile picture features him in traditional Arab attire: a pure white robe, with a black cord holding down a white headscarf — covering his distinctive heart-shaped hairline.