Binance Founder Changpeng Zhao has penned his autobiography “Freedom of Money”, in which he openly narrates his experiences as a leader in the crypto world. The tome discloses Zhao’s meetings with Gary Gensler, the current head of the SEC, and his rocky relationship with Sam Bankman-Fried, the disgraced FTX founder.
Early connections with Gensler and the SEC
Zhao describes his conversations with Gensler in Tokyo in 2019, when Gensler wasn’t SEC chair yet. Zhao states that Gensler was “very supportive of crypto at that time, ” and they even took selfies together. Zhao proposed to Gensler a position as a Binance advisor, but he refused. Gensler afterwards asked Zhao to make a video recording of an interview for a class he was conducting at MIT.
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The collapse at FTX and Binance’s court cases
He outlines his first investment relationship with Sam Bankman-Fried, which went downhill when FTX started to lure away Binance’s staff and customers. The notebook also exposes Binance’s various legal problems, such as a 4.3 billion dollar fine to the US Department of Justice and Zhao’s 4-month jail sentence.
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Life in prison and a fresh start
He wrote the autobiography on prison computers, alternating 15-minute sessions. The entire revenue from the book is intended for charity. “Freedom of Money” presents an uncommon viewpoint on how the crypto world developed and the problems that the original creators faced.
Zhao’s narrative is a cautionary tale of how important it is to be compliant and what might happen if regulatory frameworks are disregarded. Zhao recounts his jail experiences through personal stories, for example, being a cellmate with a double murderer and shedding 13 pounds due to bad meals.
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