At the tender age of 27, Yunfan “Chandler” Song is living the dream. The UC Berkeley grad and ex-Amazon software engineer is now the high-flying CEO of Ankr Network, which has quickly become one of the cryptocurrency world’s hottest startups. Apart from Ankr, Song is also the cofounder of NFT auction platform Bounce; in 2019, he was named to Forbes’ annual “30 under 30” list as one of their “Big Money” startup founders.
Those accolades have brought the millennial entrepreneur fame, at least within the crypto community, fortune and fancy cars. Now they’ve also bought him a $12 million house in one of L.A.’s most exclusive neighborhoods.
Looming high above the iconic Sunset Strip, the ultra-contemporary home was built in 2017 as one of the final designs of Austin Kelley, the late founder of XTEN Architecture. The snow-white and slab-sided mansion packs five bedrooms and six bathrooms into nearly 7,500 square feet of living space, all of it with the high-wattage visual drama and glitz associated with these showy sorts of Hollywood Hills houses.
The property sits in a neighborhood pocket of the hills known as Doheny Estates, immediately adjacent to the far more famous Bird Streets area. Controversial developer Philip Rahimzadeh bought the lot way back in 2004 and spent years of planning and construction to bring the existing mansion to life. Completed in early 2019, the house was initially offered with a nearly $17 million ask, ultimately spending spent more than two years on the market — at a wide variety of prices — before Song’s lowball offer was finally accepted.
It seems certain that building the house took some very expensive engineering, as it’s set onto a steeply-sloped lot that backs up to a nearly sheer mountain. Huge retaining walls encircle the blocky structure, and the entire place is elevated well above the street out front, with the front door set atop a twisty staircase.