Once the Chinese billionaire, Zhao Changpeng, has taken a significant fall, fined 53.1 billion and sentenced. The Binance empire has been thrown into chaos overnight.
However, the situation is not over; another crypto mogul, Sun Yuchen, has also come under scrutiny, that 'marketing genius' who spent 45 million on a banana and stood up Buffett three times.
With a slew of charges including insider trading, fraud, and money laundering, will Sun Yuchen be able to escape as easily as before?
1 sky-high 'banana'
Sun Yuchen, the post-90s entrepreneur holding the title of 'TRON founder,' actually spent $6.2 million on a banana.
Some say Sun Yuchen is foolish and wealthy, while others question his money-laundering hype, and some see this as another instance of contemporary art's 'performance art.'
In the face of doubts, he appeared unperturbed, responding, 'The traffic for bananas is now higher than mine!'
Then at a press conference in Hong Kong, he even performed a 'eating broadcast' in public, consuming the pricey banana and commenting, 'It's much tastier than other bananas!'
This series of operations, rather than an appreciation of art, can be seen as a brilliant marketing strategy, as he precisely captured the public's curiosity and placed himself and that banana on trending topics.
Even more amusingly, someone captured the moment he publicly ate a banana and gave the video a very artistic title.
After he ate the banana, the original position of the artwork was immediately covered with a new one using silver tape, indicating that this artwork is endless.
This is not the first time he has generated buzz; a few years ago, he purchased Buffett's charity lunch for $30 million but stood up the 'stock god' three times.
Looking at his resume, one finds that he is a controversial figure. He graduated from the Chinese Department of Peking University, obtained a master's degree from the University of Pennsylvania, and was among the first students of the Hupan University founded by Jack Ma.
These glamorous labels made him an idol for the younger generation of entrepreneurs, although he has faced criticism for alleged plagiarism with his online magazine (New Youth).
The TRON project he built saw its total number of mainnet accounts surpass 100,000 in August 2018, and just two months later, it exceeded 1 million. By late February 2022, this number soared to 1.6 billion.
As the saying goes, 'A tall tree attracts the wind.' In 2022, there were reports that Sun Yuchen was being investigated by the IRS and FBI for possibly using other countries' citizenship to evade legal sanctions.
At that time, reports indicated he was evading regulation by opening numerous bank accounts around the world and constantly changing his identity.
For instance, he once used a $1 million investment to acquire citizenship in Malta and claimed in court to be a citizen of Saint Kitts and Nevis in the Caribbean.
In response to the media's 'exposés' on the above content, Sun Yuchen has consistently maintained a clear stance: he denies all accusations.
He invoked his identity as the Grenada ambassador to the WTO, claiming he was not involved in U.S. tax matters, and stated, 'I have never dealt with the FBI in my life! I've never even sped! Enough with the rumors!'
To maintain his reputation, Sun Yuchen took legal action against several media outlets spreading rumors and ultimately won, discrediting the rumors.
Although it is said that 'rumors stop with the wise,' this rumor also demonstrates that the path he is on is not so easy.
2
From Chinese billionaire to inmate.
Unlike Sun Yuchen, who has been singing loudly amid controversy, Zhao Changpeng's story is more like an exhilarating adventure. He was once the Chinese billionaire at the peak of wealth, revered by many as a 'myth of the crypto world.'
But on April 30, 2024, this myth was shattered. In a U.S. court, he bowed his head and admitted to violating anti-money laundering laws, receiving a sentence of 4 months in prison.
The Binance he founded is facing a hefty fine of 53.1 billion, which is equivalent to one-fifth of Binance's market value at that time.
The Zhao Changpeng incident was a severe blow to the entire cryptocurrency industry; Binance, once flourishing, has now become a target.
The U.S. Department of Justice accused Binance of deliberately violating federal laws, failing to establish effective anti-money laundering mechanisms, and allowing funds to flow to terrorists, cybercriminals, and child abusers.
Looking back at Zhao Changpeng's entrepreneurial journey, one finds a legendary story of rising from an ordinary programmer to a cryptocurrency giant.
He was born in China and later immigrated to Canada, where he initially worked at McDonald's for $24 an hour. After graduating from university, he developed trading software at Bloomberg and the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
In 2005, he resigned from his company and returned to China, where he founded two companies in Shanghai, earning his first pot of gold.
In 2013, he happened to meet one of the founders of Ethereum, which inspired him to develop an interest in blockchain and cryptocurrency.
In 2017, he founded Binance, which quickly rose to become the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange within a few years, thanks to low trading fees and a wide variety of cryptocurrencies.
He amassed a fortune, becoming the Chinese billionaire by the end of 2021, with a net worth exceeding 60 million RMB at that time.
The FTX collapse became the last straw for Binance, and Zhao Changpeng's role and actions in the incident accelerated regulatory investigations into Binance.
Perhaps even he did not foresee that the vast empire he created would decline in such a dramatic manner.
3
Learning from lessons is crucial.
Zhao Changpeng's imprisonment undoubtedly sounded an alarm for Sun Yuchen.
The era of wild growth for cryptocurrencies has come to an end; the regulatory iron fist has struck, and the entire industry is undergoing an unprecedented storm.
How will Sun Yuchen, an entrepreneur who has walked amidst controversy, survive this storm?
In fact, as early as 2021, Sun Yuchen had already transferred the control of the TRON Foundation he founded to the community and resigned as CEO.
This move was interpreted by some as a strategy to evade regulation. But from another perspective, it may also signify that he is seeking a more compliant path for development.
In the gradually compliant trend of the cryptocurrency industry, Sun Yuchen faces enormous difficulties but also possesses rare opportunities.
He needs to deal with pressure from regulatory authorities, manage the historical issues of the TRON project, and leverage his influence in the industry to actively embrace regulation and promote the healthy development of the cryptocurrency sector.
It is crucial to learn from Zhao Changpeng's lessons, as his fall from grace was largely due to Binance's severe loopholes that breached regulatory red lines.
If Sun Yuchen can adjust his strategy early, strengthen compliance efforts, he might avoid repeating the past mistakes; if he does not adjust in time, he might be the next to suffer.
What are your thoughts on this?
