Chun Wang
{{Short description|Maltese investor}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Chun Wang
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| birth_name =
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| birth_place = Tianjin, China
| nationality =
| citizenship = {{Flatlist|
- Chinese until 2017
- St.Kittitian since 2017
- Maltese since 2023
}}
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| known_for = Cryptocurrency
Private astronaut aboard Fram2
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| relatives = {{Infobox astronaut
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| type = Crew Dragon Astronaut
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| space_time = 3 days, 14 hours and 32 minutes
| missions = Fram2
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}}
}}
Chun Wang ({{lang-zh|s=王纯|p=Wáng Chún}}https://www.zaobao.com.sg/news/world/story20250401-6102962) is a Chinese-born Maltese cryptocurrency investor and entrepreneur.{{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}}
Biography
Wang was born in Tianjin, China. He later moved to Thailand in 2015, then to South Korea. He has been a citizen of Malta{{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}} since August 2023 and Saint Kitts and Nevis since 2017.{{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}}
Bitcoin mining
In 2013, Wang co-founded F2Pool, one of the first Bitcoin mining pools in China and one of the largest globally.{{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}}{{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}}
Private spaceflight
{{seealso|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,{{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}} i.e., to fly over Earth's poles. 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.