Who is the person who quickly rose to become the world's 11th richest amid the cryptocurrency craze?

The World's Largest Cryptocurrency Exchange
Binance Founder Zhao Changpeng

▲Zhao Changpeng Binance Founder [Image Source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jaehee] The founder of Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, Zhao Changpeng's fortune has been estimated at $96 billion (approximately 115 trillion KRW).

On the 9th (local time), Bloomberg cited the Bloomberg Billionaires Index and reported that Zhao Changpeng has emerged as the richest person in the cryptocurrency industry.

According to this estimate, Zhao Changpeng's fortune surpasses that of Mukesh Ambani, chairman of Reliance Industries and Asia's richest person, who has $92.9 billion, ranking Zhao 11th in the world.

Bloomberg explained that Zhao's wealth is comparable to that of Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook (about $124 billion, 5th), Google co-founders Larry Page (about $122 billion, 6th) and Sergey Brin (about $118 billion, 7th).

Bloomberg stated, "Cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin or Binance Coin held by Zhao Changpeng were not included," adding, "Zhao's actual fortune could be much greater than this valuation."

Binance Coin surged by a remarkable 1300% last year.

The Bloomberg Billionaires Index calculated the company value based on Binance's estimated revenue last year and estimated Zhao Changpeng's stake in Binance at 90% to evaluate his fortune.

Bloomberg reported, "Binance's revenue last year was at least $20 billion (approximately 24 trillion KRW)," noting, "This is nearly three times larger than Coinbase Global's estimated revenue last year, which has a market capitalization of $50 billion."

In response, Binance issued a statement saying, "Because the cryptocurrency industry is in a growth phase, it is difficult to accurately evaluate the company value," questioning Bloomberg's assessment of Zhao Changpeng's fortune and the company's value.

Meanwhile, Zhao Changpeng, a Canadian national originally from Jiangsu Province, China, founded Binance in China in 2017. After moving through Japan and Malta, Binance currently uses Singapore as its main base and has never officially established its headquarters in any specific country or region.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.