At Shenzhen University's 40th-anniversary celebration on September 27, 2023, Zhang Yufeng, a 2018 graduate, made a remarkable personal donation of 50 million Chinese yuan (approximately 6.9 million USD) to his alma mater.

This philanthropic act has sparked interest and curiosity, mostly within industry.

How did this very young man come across such a large sum of money?

Known on Twitter as @octopusfeng, Zhang purportedly compared himself with Sam Bankman-Fried in a Mandarin podcast, claiming that they were "much alike".

He is mostly active on Chinese social media platform Jike.

Through a little bit of investigative journalism, we were able to find out a little bit about the man and his history.

Academic History

Zhang Yufeng was once an undergraduate student in Shenzhen University's Class 2, specialising in International Economics and Trade.

Despite being a student back then, he was already associated as a partner with ABD Venture, which is a hedge fund based in Singapore that specialises in alternative asset investment and trading.

These alternative assets, distinct from traditional classes, include private equity, hedge funds, collectibles, and virtual currencies.

Zhang, using this association, used it to promote his personal lecture, which was titled "A Journey to Achieve Financial Freedom through Innovation and Entrepreneurship."

In this lecture, he delved into topics like alternative asset trading and balancing academics with internships.

Source of Wealth

Zhang Yufeng's wealth primarily stems from cryptocurrency, with Solana, LUNA, and FTT being his top three sources.

His crypto journey began during an internship at a Corporate Venture Capital firm, where he explored primary market investments and later transitioned to full-time cryptocurrency trading.

One notable success was his investment in Solana, bought at $3 and held until it exceeded $200, propelling him to the top 100 traders list on FTX.

In fact, he was able to secure the rank of 89 on said list, as shown below:

This journey also led to the acquisition of a significant role in FTX's trading department.

Another achievement was shorting LUNA, with Zhang Yufeng and his FTX team making substantial profits during its peg to Bitcoin announcement.

FTX's crisis involving FTT raised questions, and Zhang Yufeng's investigation into transfers between Alameda Research and FTX hinted at possible market manipulation involving FTT.

Zhang Yufeng's investment portfolio extends beyond crypto.

He bought Bitcoin at approximately $15,800 in November 2022 and made substantial gains from going long on Aptos.

Beyond financial markets, Zhang Yufeng invests in traditional collectibles, stocks like Bilibili, and NFTs, including assets like Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) and Azuki.