{{Short description|Maltese investor}}{{Family name hatnote|Wang|lang=Chinese}}{{Infobox person | name = Chun Wang | native_name = 王纯 | native_name_lang = zh | image = | image_size = | caption = | birth_name = | birth_date = {{birth year and age|1982}} | birth_place = Tianjin, China | nationality = | citizenship = {{plainlist| * China (until 2017) * Saint Kitts (since 2017) * Malta (since 2023) }} | alma_mater = <!--need--> | occupation = <!--need--> | known_for = Cryptocurrency<br>Private astronaut aboard Fram2 | spouse = | children = | mother = | father = | relatives = {{Infobox astronaut | embed=yes | type = Commercial astronaut | space_time = 3{{nbsp}}days, 14{{nbsp}}hours, 32{{nbsp}}minutes | missions = Fram2 | insignia = }} }} '''Chun Wang''' ({{lang-zh|s=王纯|p=Wáng Chún}}<ref>{{cite web | title=华裔富豪王纯出资 SpaceX首载人绕飞地球南北极 | url=https://www.zaobao.com.sg/news/world/story20250401-6102962 }}</ref>) is a Chinese-born Maltese-Kittitian cryptocurrency investor who co-founded F2Pool, one of the first Bitcoin mining pools in China.<ref name="spacenews">{{Cite web |last=Foust |first=Jeff |date=2024-08-13 |title=Crypto entrepreneur buys Crew Dragon flight |url=https://spacenews.com/crypto-entrepreneur-buys-crew-dragon-flight/ |access-date=2024-08-14 |website=SpaceNews |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=ASICs and entrepreneurs: The founding of China's first mining pool |url=https://f2pool.io/mining/insights/20201209-founding-chinas-first-mining-pool/ |access-date=2024-08-14 |website=f2pool |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Harwood |first=William |date=2024-08-13 |title=SpaceX to launch bitcoin entrepreneur and three crewmates on flight around Earth's poles - CBS News |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/spacex-to-launch-bitcoin-entrepreneur-and-three-crewmates-on-flight-around-earths-poles/ |access-date=2024-08-14 |website=www.cbsnews.com |language=en-US}}</ref>
==Life and career== Born around 1982,<ref name=tindia>{{cite web |title=Meet 42-year-old Chun Wang, crypto investor who bought SpaceX flight to circle around Earth |url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/gallery/dream-come-true-meet-42-year-old-chun-wang-crypto-investor-who-bought-spacex-flight-to-circle-around-earth-photogallery-prnt/cid/2091833 |website=www.telegraphindia.com |publisher=The Telegraph India |access-date=29 April 2025}}</ref> Wang was born in Tianjin, China. He first travelled beyond his hometown in his early 20s, and his first trip abroad he was 28.<ref name=historic/> Dropping out of university, he held several software programming jobs in China.<ref name=first>{{cite web |title=Meet Chun Wang, the first Maltese citizen in space |url=https://timesofmalta.com/article/meet-chun-wang-first-maltese-citizen-space.1106102 |website=www.timesofmalta.com |date=6 March 2025 |publisher=Times of Malta |access-date=29 April 2025}}</ref> In 2011, he borrowed $40,000 from his father to invest in early cryptocurrency ventures, experiencing financial loss in the first months. He had made gains by 2013, co-founding F2Pool. He launched the crypto venture Stakefish in 2018.<ref name=historic/> For a time, F2Pool was the world's largest bitcoin mining operation.<ref name=tindia/>
==Private spaceflight== {{see also|Fram2}}
On March 31 (April 1 UTC), 2025 the Fram2 mission of a Crew Dragon spacecraft was successfully launched. It was the first human flight to go a polar retrograde orbit,<ref>{{Cite tweet |first=Jonathan |last=McDowell |author-link=Jonathan McDowell|user=planet4589 |number=1906922678067560513|title=First Space Force orbit data for Fram-2 out , showing it in a 202 x 413 km x 90.01 deg orbit|note=0.01° means it entered Retrograde orbit too}}</ref> i.e., to fly over Earth's poles.<ref name="spacenews"/> The mission lasted 3.5 days, ending on 4 April 2025 at 16:19:28{{nbsp}}UTC (9:19:28{{nbsp}}a.m. PDT, local time at the landing site). It was the first Pacific splashdown for a Crew Dragon mission.
Fram2 was privately funded and commanded by Wang, and operated by SpaceX with a Crew Dragon spacecraft. In addition to Wang, it flew his all-civilian crew — Jannicke Mikkelsen, Rabea Rogge and Eric Philips. He had conceived the idea of a polar spaceflight in 2023, proposing it to SpaceX. The crew conducted 22 experiments focused on human health and space exploration technology, including the first X-ray in space.<ref name=indiatimes>{{cite web |title=Explorer, filmmaker, scientist, and a Bitcoin investor: Meet the SpaceX Fram2 crew making space history |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/science/explorer-filmmaker-scientist-and-a-bitcoin-investor-meet-the-spacex-fram2-crew-making-space-history/articleshow/119837522.cms?from=mdr |website=indiatimes.com | date=April 2025 |publisher=The Economic Times|access-date=29 April 2025}}</ref> A Maltese citizen since August 2023, he became the first person from Malta to travel to space. It was also the first time non-Americans participated in a civilian spaceflight. He and the crew spent two months of training at SpaceX headquarters in California.<ref name=historic>{{Cite news |title=Chun Wang to become first Maltese citizen in space with historic polar orbit mission |url=https://businessday.ng/world/article/chun-wang-to-become-first-maltese-citizen-in-space-with-historic-polar-orbit-mission/ |location=Lagos, Nigeria|newspaper=BusinessDay|date=7 March 2025 |access-date=29 April 2025}}</ref> Wang, outlining a goal to visit every country on earth, scheduled the space trip to be his 1,000th flight.<ref name=sky>{{cite web |title=Bitcoin tycoon Chun Wang blasts off on polar SpaceX flight to achieve world first |url=https://news.sky.com/story/bitcoin-tycoon-chun-wang-blasts-off-on-polar-spacex-flight-to-achieve-world-first-13339726 |website=www.sky.com |publisher=Sky News |access-date=29 April 2025}}</ref>
On May 21st 2026, Wang announced that he was going on the first manned interplanetary mission to Mars, which will last two years and fly by the planet without landing. He also plans to participate in a lunar mission alongside Dennis Tito at an unspecified date.<ref>{{Cite web|title=SpaceX Updates |url=https://www.spacex.com/updates#first-starship-interplanetary-mission |website=www.spacex.com |publisher=SpaceX |access-date=21 May 2026}}</ref>
==Personal life== He moved to Thailand in 2015, then to South Korea. He has been a citizen of Malta<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sheetz |first=Michael |date=2024-08-13 |title=Crypto magnate buys SpaceX mission for private polar spaceflight expedition |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2024/08/13/crypto-magnate-chun-wang-buys-spacex-polar-spaceflight-fram2.html |access-date=2024-08-21 |website=CNBC |language=en}}</ref> since August 2023 and Saint Kitts and Nevis since 2017.<ref>{{Cite web |title=fram2: First Human Spaceflight To Earth's Polar Regions |url=https://f2.com/ |access-date=2025-03-11 |website=f2.com |language=en}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
Category:Living people Category:1982 births Category:Maltese businesspeople Category:Naturalised citizens of Malta Category:People associated with cryptocurrency Category:Maltese people of Chinese descent