Bloomberg has just revealed that according to its latest estimates, Changpeng Zhao has a fortune of at least $96 billion. If you don't know who Changpeng Zhao is, you might think he's just another billionaire who doesn't even make it into the global top 10, which requires you to be above $100 billion to get in.
Better known by his initials CZ, Changpeng Zhao is not just another billionaire. He is indeed the CEO and founder of Binance, one of the most powerful cryptocurrency trading platforms in the world. His fortune, CZ made it into the world of cryptocurrency.
So he's a billionaire in a league of his own. Of course, these are just estimates from Bloomberg, but there is no doubt that CZ is immensely wealthy. At the root of his fortune is a philosophy that has allowed him to take full advantage of the Bitcoin revolution.
Changpeng Zhao went all-in on Bitcoin in 2014 convinced by its incredible utility growth potential
The year is 2014. CZ discovers Bitcoin at a conference in Las Vegas with some of the biggest names in this nascent industry. Eager to introduce him to Bitcoin, someone sends him a small amount:
“At the time, a man transferred BTC to me to teach me how to use my wallet. After I learned, I said I would give it back, but he wouldn't accept it. He said I could keep these units of BTC and use them to teach someone else.”
The fact that this man told him to keep Bitcoin made CZ realize that the intentions of the players in this nascent community were laudable.
Quickly convinced by the potential of Bitcoin, CZ made a decision that was insane for those around him. He decided to sell his apartment in Shanghai for Bitcoin. CZ doesn't say how many BTC he got at the time, but it must have been quite a number since the price of BTC was around $300.
A few months later, the price of Bitcoin dropped by 30%. At the same time, the Chinese real estate market took off, and the apartment sold by CZ saw its price double. Rather than panic and back out, CZ decided to continue the adventure.
CZ's success shows you the right approach to take with Bitcoin: focus on its growth potential, not on its price in US dollars at a given moment
You might be wondering what convinced CZ if you're still hesitant to buy Bitcoin today. Well, CZ sort of explained it recently via a tweet: https://twitter.com/cz_binance/status/1478243366387081216
Those who base their investments solely on the price of Bitcoin or an asset must be excellent traders. This was not the case with CZ, who followed a different philosophy: investing based on the growth potential of the Bitcoin network's utility. For him, this growth potential was immense.
So there was no reason to panic after the fall in the price of Bitcoin since the growth potential was still there.
CZ continues its adventure but faces serious financial difficulties. He returned to work under the traditional market. Rather than doubting, he recalls what happened in 2001 when the DotCom bubble burst. Amazon, eBay, and even Google lost up to 98% of their value on the stock market. All disruptive technologies go through this kind of phase.
CZ's confidence in Bitcoin paid off and the aftermath proved him right. He ended up founding BINANCE in 2017, which would become one of the most powerful cryptocurrency trading platforms in the world. Today, CZ admits that 99% of his fortune is made up of cryptocurrencies. A majority in BNB tokens and the rest in BTC. That Bitcoin he had obtained in 2014 by selling his house and holding an all-in.
CZ was forced to sell a tiny portion of it to survive the hard times, but he plans to remain a Bitcoin HODLer for the future.
Final Thoughts
CZ's story is a good example of why you should invest in Bitcoin based on its future utility growth potential, not on its current price in US dollars. This price is necessarily volatile since Bitcoin is a free market. On the other hand, the guarantees that the Bitcoin protocol gives you are unchanged since its inception
This suggests that more and more people will come to embrace Bitcoin to take advantage of all it has to offer. If you are going to buy Bitcoin, these are the fundamentals that should guide you. The real signal is here. And if you make that choice, then you will understand that HODL Bitcoin for the long term as CZ has done is the best choice for your future.
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