She moved to the United States at the age of 11. Who is Angela Meng, the Chinese-American boss of Coinbase?

Written by: Jaleel plus six, BlockBeats

Who is Angela Meng? This may be the biggest news in the Chinese crypto community these days.

In the crypto industry, news of marriage can also spark a discussion, especially when the protagonist is Brian Armstrong, co-founder and CEO of Coinbase, the world's most well-known cryptocurrency trading platform. Recently, Brian announced on social media that he had been married to Angela Meng for a week, and this news quickly sparked heated discussions in the crypto community. Well-known figures from the global crypto field have sent their blessings, and Cathie Wood ("Wood Sister") of Ark Invest and the founder of MicroStrategy have expressed their sincere congratulations to the newlyweds.

As one of the world's largest cryptocurrency trading platforms, Coinbase has a 82bd9365-5cad-4db5-a5bc-cf192cb9095b value of $41.4 billion. Coinbase is not only the largest cryptocurrency trading platform in the Western world, but also one of the most influential financial technology companies in the world. Coinbase was already a company with no worries about funds before its listing, and it has become even more popular after its listing. According to data, in the United States, about 13 out of every 100 people use Coinbase for transactions.

And Brian Armstrong's personal wealth has also risen steadily with the rise of Coinbase. His current net worth is about $7.4 billion, making him one of the important figures in the global cryptocurrency field.

The emergence of Angela Meng naturally aroused people's great curiosity about her, especially her Asian identity, which made the Chinese community feel at home. Some members of the crypto community even compared her with another Chinese "exchange boss lady" - He Yi of Binance. Although Angela seems to have no trace of being involved in the crypto field before, everyone can't help but wonder whether she will become Brian's right-hand man in his career, play an important role in the crypto world like He Yi, or continue her career as a journalist in the crypto industry.

From limited information, BlockBeats pieced together Angela's growth experience: she immigrated to the United States at the age of 11 and shared a house with two other families. She believed that her original family was between the working class and the new peasant class; when she went to middle school in the United States, like most children who immigrated at a young age, she had difficulty integrating into the community and was often bullied by local children; she raised a German shepherd mix for more than half a year, but her parents could not afford the cost of adopting it; she entered UCLA for college and became a reporter and model after graduation...

Immigrated to the United States at the age of 11, and shared a house with three families

For ten years before leaving China, Angela lived with her grandmother and grandfather. Angela's grandmother first worked in a paper mill and only had a high school education, but after the university reopened, she entered the University of Science and Technology of China as a laboratory assistant. Because she was loved by students, she was eventually promoted to professor.

In Angela's childhood memories, there are many times spent in the kitchen with her grandmother. The kitchen was dimly lit, there was no hot water, the green beans sizzled in the wok, and the kettle on the stove began to make a sharp sound. Her grandmother brought her a small stool and asked her to sit next to her to help cut vegetables while she was responsible for cooking. After dinner, they did homework together, cleaned the kitchen, and occasionally watched the news. Every month, she would help her grandmother dye her hair, and her grandmother would help her braid her hair.

Childhood Angela Meng and her grandmother, source Angela

As a generation under China's one-child policy, Angela and her peers are usually spoiled, but her grandmother gave her a good early education. Like her surrogate mother, it was her grandmother who taught her diligence, humility and integrity. Angela's grandmother died on the morning of May 6, 2020. Angela was in California at the time, and the 15-hour time difference made her feel that her grandmother was still alive in her own time when she received the news.

When Angela was 11 years old, she and her mother had just set foot on American soil and reunited with her father. The family of three squeezed into a single-story room and shared the hut with two other immigrant families. They rented the cheapest bedroom in the middle, with a monthly rent of $400. They shared the front door with one family and the back door with another family, and the bathroom was used by three families in turn.

One of the two neighbors was a family of three. Angela's parents respected them very much because they had green cards and could speak basic English. They occupied the most beautiful part of the house, with a rose and some wild mint in the front yard. The mother of this family, Annie, was a receptionist in a warehouse. She often practiced yoga and often showed Angela's family the "real American life" through brief exclamations: "Americans like pickup trucks, hamburgers, pizza, and sometimes they eat vegetables and eat them raw. This is called salad."

Angela was fascinated by her neighbor Annie's description of social classes in the United States. Because in her opinion, the place where she was born, China, is composed of three parts:

1) People with political connections, who are therefore rich and educated;

2) The working class, who are far less wealthy and less educated;

3) The peasant class, which accounts for about 65% of the population, is uneducated and poor agricultural workers, literally called "peasants."

And her family is probably between the working class and the new peasant class. Angela remembers going to the supermarket with her mother once. She wanted to buy a box of strawberries that ripen quickly, but her mother apologized to Angela after seeing the price and asked her to put down the strawberries at $3.99 per pound and pick up some Fuji apples at $0.69 per pound.

In addition to the respected neighbor Annie's family, Angela has another neighbor who is four illegal immigrants, a pair of parents and a pair of twins. Angela's parents and neighbor Annie look down on this illegal immigrant family because their parents work below the minimum wage, with irregular working hours, which is suitable for undocumented workers but harmful to health, the neighbor's father works at a construction site three hours away, and the mother is a nursing assistant for the elderly. She was an illiterate farmer in China. But Angela is full of good feelings for this neighbor because they do not show obvious cultural inferiority like neighbor Annie and her parents. With them, there is no talk of class or social status, nor jealousy or superiority. Although they often come home covered in dust or smell of sewage, they are warm without self-pity, curious without preaching, and seem to have a natural talent for accepting life.

And the twins are troublemakers, but they are also Angela's good friends in childhood. The twin boys are named Kevin, and the twin girls are excited about having an English name and keep changing their names, such as April, June, Olivia, and this week Samantha.

"Outsider", bullied in middle school

On the first day of high school in the United States, Angela's mother dressed her in an outfit that is considered "cool" in China: a bright blue sweater with "BABY SEXY DREAM" written on it and a magenta bear pattern below. There is also a so-called "Louis Vuitton" headband (Louis Vuitton does not make headbands at all) and a pair of color-blocked blue pants that are too big at the waist and too short at the bottom.

Unlike her current image of always smiling and modeling for Elite Model Management and LA Models, Angela almost never smiled back then and always looked down at her shoes, afraid that others would not smile back. She had no social skills and spoke very poor English. When someone asked her why she didn't climb the monkey bars, she said in her broken English, "It's very ouch" (which means "it hurts"), thinking that this sentence could express her fear of falling.

She grew up very quickly. She was about 152 cm tall in middle school, but weighed only 32 kg. Most of the children in her class were about 135 cm tall and of normal body shape. Angela stood out among them. Because she was afraid of being laughed at, she often walked with a hunched back and avoided eye contact with people.

Angela hated the playground because she never used her body for anything except to let it carry her thoughts. On the playground, she was clumsy, unbalanced, and uncoordinated. She had never thrown a ball, let alone caught it. Dodgeball was Angela's most hated sport, and she felt that it was the culprit for her post-traumatic stress disorder in elementary school. During the game, she either moved awkwardly with dragging steps or stepped back violently with her arms waving. Most of her classmates grew up in a diverse education system, with the agility of cheetahs and the gymnastics skills of jungle monkeys.

Like most children who grew up in immigrant families, Angela's naturally lanky body and unsociable appearance made it difficult for her to fit in among this group of middle school students, and she became the target of ridicule and bullying by her peers. They didn't hesitate to give her all kinds of vicious nicknames, such as "skinny bone jones", "bulimic bitch", "Jap", "chink", "gook" and "dumpling dumpster".

Angela was thrown into a world completely different from the Chinese education system she was familiar with. In Chinese schools, academic excellence is the only standard, respect is earned through perfect grades and mastering musical instruments, and any unruly behavior will not be tolerated. However, American schools are more like a state of anarchy. Students curse each other and throw paper balls, and teachers will only perfunctorily say "stop it" and then let the situation deteriorate. Here, everyone seems to have a fixed social role, hard-working children are labeled as "nerds" and "losers", and respect is often not earned in the classroom, but earned through physical dominance on the playground during recess.

Angela was walking home one afternoon when three of her science classmates caught up with her. "Hey, you!" the leader of the group yelled. Angela said nothing, but quickened her pace to get home. A few hours ago, they had been huddled together to complete a group project under the supervision of their teacher, and they had seemed friendly and civilized, but now they were savages again.

"Hey, SKINNY-ASS BITCH!" the leader of the group yelled even louder, grabbing the handle of Angela's backpack, "You think you're better than us?" Angela was grabbed by the hair and dragged to the side; another person opened her backpack and began to take things out.

Angela tried to break free, but her struggle only made the other person push harder. They pulled for a whole block until they reached Angela's home, and her mother heard the commotion outside and leaned out of the window.

Years of experience in dealing with bullying made Angela understand that the most humiliating thing was to let her mother see her being bullied at school. So, she chose to do the only way she could think of at the time - laugh. She pretended to be relaxed and laughed loudly, so loud that the whole block could hear it. Although her reaction confused the bullies, the "bullies" still did not let go.

Just when she was about to despair, a German shepherd mix ran out, raised the hair on its back, made a low growl, and rushed straight to the children who bullied Angela, barking non-stop until the "bullies" ran away in panic.

Mickey, Angela's first dog adopted

This German shepherd mix was a stray dog in this neighborhood, and Angela often took care of it secretly. Angela spent a long time on the steps in front of her house, dealing with her shame and fear, and it sat in front of her, with one chubby paw on her knee, as if supporting the whole world.

"On those days when I came home with bruises and humiliation, it saved me, using its natural wit and wisdom to keep me optimistic, as if to say to me: This is life." These are Angela's original words.

Left: Wedding scene; Right: Angela's instagram

Just like they walked the flower path at the wedding with a dog, this German Shepherd was also very important to Angela in her growing up career.

Angela named the German Shepherd mix Mickey because Mickey Mouse was the only American cartoon character she knew at the time. As time went by, Mickey became an important partner in her life.

German Shepherd, Photo: Jena Ardell/Getty Images

There is a scientific theory that pet owners give their own ego when describing their pets: for example, bodybuilders will describe their pets as the strongest, politicians think their pets are picky and independent, and celebrities will say their pets are princesses. Angela is also well versed in this theory. Her description of Mickey seems to give us a glimpse into the ego and personality of the Chinese wife of the American crypto giant:

Mickey never complains, as if he understands the truth of the world like a philosopher: without hardship and pain, there would be no happiness. She is firm and steady, not the kind of dog that jumps on furniture or turns over on its belly to be petted. Every move she makes is slow and cautious, strong and confident, as calm and composed as a Sphinx (an Egyptian creature with a lion body, eagle wings and a human head that symbolizes strength and wisdom).

Angela, source thebigthing.org

However, this delicate balance was suddenly broken. One day, Angela found that Mickey was missing. She asked her mother anxiously, "Mom, where is Mickey?" Her mother did not answer her question directly, with a deliberate indifference on her face, and asked her to do her homework. Angela asked again and again, and her mother asked coldly, "What dog?" and fell silent.

This answer made Angela fall into deep confusion and pain in an instant. She knew that her mother must know what happened, but her mother's indifference made her feel rejected and alienated. At this time, the mother was not unaware of Angela's feelings, but she was facing a difficult reality in her own way: she could no longer let her daughter rely too much on the dog. The family has already endured too much pressure and challenges, and raising a dog is not an option they can afford at the moment. Besides, Angela's mother has a deep fear of dogs.

In China, dogs are an animal that is almost never respected. It was not until 2020 that dogs were removed from the definition of "livestock" and became "companion animals". For Angela's mother, the long-standing fear and stereotypes about rabies legends did not disappear so quickly.

In the end, Angela found out in her own way that Mickey was kicked in the leg by a neighbor because of excessive barking, and was then abandoned at a construction site three hours away from home. When she questioned her parents, they fell into endless excuses and accusations.

"What else can we do, Angela? Have you forgotten? How much sacrifice have we made to allow you to receive education here? How much sweat and tears have we shed? How many relatives and friends have we given up? We don't even have our own medical insurance, how can we afford to take the dog to see a doctor?"

Every word of the mother is full of helplessness about real life. She did not deliberately hurt Angela, but left some trauma on young Angela. When she grew up, Angela was often asked: "Have you ever had a dog?" She would always answer: "Yes, it is a German shepherd mixed breed named Micke, named after a Disney character, but she died not long after I raised her." She decided not to tell them the truth, because everyone has their own helplessness in this story.

For a long time after that, Angela decided to never speak to her parents again, to express her unwillingness in this way, and then to grow up in silence, find a job to support herself, not invite them to her graduation ceremony or wedding, and even not let them attend her funeral if she died earlier than them.

Until one day before school, Angela put on her schoolbag and made sure her face was expressionless in front of the mirror. Her mother called her over with a crumpled hundred-dollar bill in her hand. For Angela at that time, the hundred-dollar bill was an urban legend.

But the woman who bought Fuji apples at $0.69 per pound instead of strawberries at $3.99 per pound, that is, Angela's mother, unzipped the side zipper of Angela's schoolbag, didn't say much, just put the money in her schoolbag, and gently touched her head.

Angela suddenly realized that love does not always appear in the expected way, and the "language of love" can be in many forms. Unlike Mickey's company, this hundred dollars is a quarter of their monthly rent. Perhaps in the eyes of the mother, it is the only support and "language of love" she can give Angela.

From UCLA to Journalist, Model and Writer

In West Africa, there are some bards, or storytellers, who are responsible for preserving the history of the entire village. People come to the rioters with memories, and the rioters will remember them for future generations.

Angela Meng mentioned these "bards" in her stories, and she always seems to put herself in such a role and position. When she encounters some unexpected stories, she always takes out paper and pen to write them down, which seems to have destined her career development to become a journalist.

Angela went to college at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and studied history. After graduating from college, she worked in the investment banking department of Lazard in New York, and then worked in the South China Morning Post, Phoenix News, and GEN Magazine. During this period, she also recorded her stories and wrote books on Medium.

Because of her outstanding appearance, Angela was discovered by a scout and began a four-year modeling career. She worked as a model for Elite Model Management and LA Models, often participated in photo shoots, and attended art events.

Angela at the 2022 Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art Gala, source BFA

Angela, in her early 20s, is similar to and different from ordinary women.

Like most young women, Angela likes sweets, especially a traditional Arab dessert called Jordanian knafeh, which is usually made of cheese, clotted cream, pistachios or nuts.

Jordanian knafeh, source network

But unlike ordinary young women, Angela likes to observe ants. She has a honeypot ant colony on her desk, which can simulate the real ecology of ants. The price of the ant ecological jar is not expensive, about a few hundred dollars, but the expensive part is the ants.

It is said that in the cognition of some ant lovers, these pet ants are most famous for their origins in Kenya and Mexico. The price of one ant can be as high as tens of thousands of yuan, and the price of a nest can even be equivalent to a house.

Ant Eco-Can, source network

After that, Angela lived in Los Angeles for a long time and began her life as a writer. Her book "The Big Thing: Brave Bea finds silver linings with the help of family and friends during a global pandemic" has been published.

This is a children's illustrated book with themes of family, gratitude and belonging, trying to help children understand the coronavirus period from a positive rather than negative perspective. The story is probably about the magical and positive stories that the protagonist experienced during the coronavirus pandemic. With the help of family, teachers and friends, the protagonist discovers how to find a silver lining and see the positive side in a crisis. It is said that all sales of the book will be donated to COVID-19 charities.

Image source thebigthing.org

The watershed of 30 years old, anxiety and struggle

In 2021, Angela Meng was nearly 30 years old and began to usher in the so-called "30-year-old anxiety".

Although someone told her that 30 years old is the best age of life, financial stability, stable life, good health, and a peaceful mental state, just like high-end cities such as Zurich, Calgary or Copenhagen-clean air, low crime rate, perfect infrastructure and efficient governance. But Angela felt that all this did not attract her three years ago. She preferred to be like Berlin, Tbilisi or Tel Aviv, full of chaos, vitality and unknown.

In her article "Don't Make Me 30", she frankly expressed her resistance to entering the 30-year-old dividing line, because she would have to give up many things she liked in the past. She asked in great confusion: "What is 30 years old?"

She doesn’t want to give up her favorite nightclubs, and she misses the nights she spent in front of the DJ booth in polyester miniskirts and four-inch heels, even though she may have been tired of it. She doesn’t want to have a mortgage, or friends with mortgages. She would rather have endless social capital and use it recklessly - the privilege that comes with being 20.

She doesn’t want to plan for a retirement or save up for a safe life. She would rather spend lavishly on designer bags and champagne. She doesn’t want to be in a long-term relationship with a mature man, and instead prefers to attract emotional manipulators who appear to be real and sincere because that’s the lifestyle she aspires to.

Angela doesn’t want to write blog posts about “finally feeling whole”, “feeling stronger”, or “not being bothered by social expectations”. She just wants to continue to be “very attractive”. She also didn’t want to learn to “love herself” because she had enough people lining up to love her in her 20s. She also didn’t want to face the fact that she was moving closer to the female image in “Sex and the City” - going out to dinner with any New York man who would date her, laughing at their boring jokes, while her only five remaining eggs were ticking in the dark.

Angela didn’t want to start meditating, or go to a yoga retreat in India, or start using those empty aphorisms that only 30-year-old women would say, such as “age is just a number” or “30 is the new 20.” She knew deep down that these words were just lies to comfort herself. You are 30 years old, and this is the reality.

Brian Armstrong's $133 million villa in Los Angeles

In 2024, when Angela and Brian Armstrong got married, she had already entered the stage of 30 years old. Although she still walked into the kind of life that she resisted in her 20s, fortunately, Brian Armstrong, 41, has $7.4 billion in assets, so she can still spend lavishly and spend money on brand-name bags and champagne. And she can still live in the familiar Los Angeles as before, but she has moved from her apartment to the luxury villa that Brian Armstrong bought for $133 million in 2022.

References:

1. "Love Can Look Like So Many Things", Angela Meng;

2. "Don't Make Me 30", Angela Meng; Angela Meng;