$1B profits in 1 year
Binance reached $1 billion in profits — not revenue — within its first year of operation, an extraordinary milestone for any company.
Snapshot · PBD Podcast
The $110 Billion Dollar Man - Binance Founder Opens Up | PBD #797
Explore episode
May 12, 2026
Where this was said
Year One: 4 Hours of Sleep and $1 Billion in Profit
At 44:28 · chapter starts 41:40
CZ's description of Binance's first year is both inspiring and physically alarming. He was going home at 2 AM, sleeping until 6 AM, showering, returning, and napping around 2–3 PM — a cycle sustained for essentially a full year. The office was loud, chaotic, and electric; people shouted over each other in an open-plan space that buzzed with constant emergencies. [1] — Changpeng Zhao "$1B profits in 1 year: Binance reached $1 billion in profits — not revenue — within its first year of operation, an extraordinary milestone…" 44:28 The cost base was tiny, margins were enormous, and revenue came almost entirely from trading fees on rapidly growing volume. Within a year, Binance had generated $1 billion in profit — not revenue — making it one of the fastest companies in history to reach that milestone. Eighty percent of the original co-founders are still with the company today. The physical toll was real: team members were hospitalized, the CTO still uses eye drops from an infection he got during those days. CZ says his body couldn't handle it again — but admits part of him misses the camaraderie of fighting in the trenches.
Zero to $1 Billion in Profits in One Year
Binance launched July 14, 2017, and within one year had generated $1 billion in profit — not revenue. CZ was sleeping 4 hours a night, napping in the office, and double-checking financial figures he couldn't believe were real. The team was small, costs were low, and trading fees on massive volume did the rest.
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