🪙 NYT released a large profile of CZ. It quickly becomes clear from the text — Changpeng Zhao has long ceased to be merely the founder of Binance. He now lives at the intersection of crypto, immense capital, ruling families of the Persian Gulf, and high politics.

🔵 CZ has firmly established himself in the UAE. He lives in Abu Dhabi, owns real estate, uses security, a yacht, and private aviation. Forbes estimates his fortune at over $100 billion, although Zhao himself says the real figure is more like $10–30 billion.
🔵 His relationship with the Emirates developed very quickly. According to the NYT, he was granted a Golden Visa in 2021 in less than 12 hours, and Binance later participated in shaping local crypto regulation.
🔵 UAE citizenship proved particularly valuable for CZ. He himself directly stated that an important factor was protection from possible extradition to the US — at that time, the American investigation into Binance was already gaining momentum.
🔵 After the deal with the US Department of Justice, Binance paid $4.3 billion, and CZ received four months in prison.26 minutes after his release, his private jet was already flying towards Abu Dhabi — a detail that well conveys the scale of the man and his current position.
🔵 The most controversial part of the profile is the chain connecting Binance, the UAE, and the Trump family. The MGX fund invested $2 billion in Binance, and the transaction went through USD1 from World Liberty Financial. In parallel, the UAE sought access to American AI chips, Binance wanted a softening of restrictions, and CZ — a presidential pardon. Later, the US allowed chip supplies, and Trump pardoned Zhao. All parties deny that these events were related.
🔵 CZ formally left Binance, but he is far from gone. He remains the largest shareholder, Yi He is still by his side, and Zhao himself increasingly acts as a crypto-diplomat — meeting with presidents, sheikhs, and advising states.

At the end of the profile, there's a detail that well explains his attitude towards everything happening — CZ is seriously interested in simulation theory and loves to repeat that life should be taken more simply.

“It's just a game.”

@DeCenterOrg