In 2017, CZ decided to become an entrepreneur and set out to establish his own cryptocurrency exchange—which would later become Binance.
Previously, he had been in the business of trading system software. However, changes in China’s regulatory policies forced many exchanges to shut down, severely affecting his business.
So CZ decided to change direction: instead of providing technology to other exchanges, he would build his own.
But the first problem when starting a business was: Where could they get the money to make the project happen?
At first, CZ considered raising funds from venture capital (VC) firms.
But all the VC friends he knew in Shanghai turned him down.
Some people thought there were already too many cryptocurrency exchanges, competition was too fierce, and there was no need to launch another one.
Just then, an unexpected opportunity appeared.
On June 1, 2017, an industry contact named Linke told CZ that he was conducting an ICO.
In just nine days, Linke raised $15 million.
CZ saw the result and asked himself: If someone else can do it, why can’t I?
So he decided to try an ICO.
Interestingly, at the time, CZ himself had only just encountered ICOs, and almost no one on the team really understood the model.
As soon as he got back to the hotel, CZ called the team and assigned them the following tasks:
Research ICOs quickly.
Start writing the white paper in both Chinese and English.
Finish the white paper within three days.
Complete the fundraising process within two weeks.
Fundraising target: $15 million.
And that is how BNB was born.
Initially, BNB was issued at $0.1 per token. Investors could buy it using BTC or ETH.
At the time, BNB’s main purpose was to give holders a discount on trading fees on Binance. In the white paper, CZ also clearly stated that BNB did not represent an ownership stake in Binance.
At 7 p.m. on June 23, 2017, the first public BNB sale officially began.
However, as soon as the first sale began, the servers crashed!
Afterward, the team decided to split the ICO into five separate rounds.
The final sale did not officially end until July 2.
According to CZ’s account in his memoir, this ICO raised the equivalent of $15 million.
But what happened next is the really interesting part.
On the day fundraising ended, all 20 team members were at the office.
An administrative staff member named Xiaofang suggested that everyone celebrate.
But they didn’t go to a fancy restaurant, and there was no champagne or lavish party.
The whole team simply ordered a delivery meal that was a little more elaborate than usual.
At the time, the office had just two small tables pushed together, with room for only about four people to eat at once.
So the 20 team members had to take turns picking up food and then return to their desks to eat.
CZ said it was the first time in three weeks of nonstop work that the whole team had been able to enjoy a meal together.
To thank everyone for their hard work, CZ decided to give each employee an extra month’s salary in BNB.
At the time, that was calculated using the issue price of $0.1 per BNB.
And then something unexpected happened.
A few years later, the finance department told CZ that he still had an unused account on Binance containing as many as 50,000 BNB.
It turned out that when the finance department distributed BNB bonuses to employees, it had included CZ on the list too.
At the time, CZ’s monthly salary was $5,000, equivalent to 50,000 BNB at the issue price of $0.1.
By the time he discovered the bonus, BNB had risen to $480 per token.
The BNB he hadn’t even known he owned was now worth as much as $24 million!
But the real test was still ahead.
On July 14, 2017, Binance officially began operations.
CZ eagerly watched the trading screen. When the countdown ended, BNB began trading.
But the screen showed almost nothing but sell orders, with no buy orders at all!
Later, a few buy orders appeared at lower prices, but they were quickly filled. BNB’s price continued to plunge.
The team, having just completed its fundraising round, suddenly fell silent.
In his book, CZ recalled that he couldn’t help muttering:
“This doesn’t seem to be going well, does it?”
After that, the team continued improving the exchange, expanding BNB’s use cases, and working hard to attract users.
On August 8, 2017, Binance officially announced that He Yi had joined the company.
One interesting detail is that, according to CZ’s recollection, BNB began to recover after He Yi joined.
By August 9, BNB had rebounded, rising above its original issue price after having fallen about 40% below it.
Over the next three weeks, BNB’s price continued to rise.
Around August 24, BNB briefly reached $2.9.
Compared with its issue price of $0.1, BNB had risen 29-fold!
CZ himself admitted that he couldn’t explain exactly why BNB rose so quickly.
In his view, it was the combined result of community growth, the expansion of BNB’s use cases, and the market cycle at the time.
From being rejected by investors, to 20 people crowded into a small office to eat a delivered meal, to BNB’s launch amid a flood of sell orders—and finally its 29-fold growth.
That is the story of Binance’s early startup days, as CZ recounts it in his book Freedom of Money.
Looking back at this story, what impresses me most isn’t how many times BNB’s price eventually rose, but those 20 people in 2017.
They once squeezed into a small office, took turns picking up food, ate while working, and received their salaries in BNB that was worth very little at the time.
Perhaps none of them could have imagined that, a few years later, the tokens they received as part of their salary and bonuses could completely change their lives.