CZs Net Worth Update The Amount of Binance Coin BNB He Owns

In a recent exclusive article by Forbes on June 14th, it was revealed that Changpeng Zhao (CZ), the founder of Binance, holds an impressive 64% of the circulating supply of BNB Chain (BNB), previously known as Binance coin. The article also estimates CZ’s net worth to be $61 billion, making him the 24th richest person in the world, just behind Julia Koch and her family.

The report, conducted in collaboration with Gray Wolf Analytics, uncovers how CZ acquired his significant BNB holdings. Initially, he and the founding team received 80 million tokens from the total supply of 200 million BNB during the creation of Binance in 2017. The report states that Forbes’ analysis of the wallets that received these tokens reveals that the company currently holds 46.2 million of the original 80 million tokens.

Furthermore, CZ is credited with 41.6 million BNB due to his 90% ownership of Binance. Additionally, an investigation published by Forbes and Gray Wolf in October 2023 uncovered that Binance’s initial coin offering (ICO) was undersubscribed, leading CZ and his company to funnel unsold shares into wallets he controlled. These wallets now hold an estimated 58 million BNB, valued at $35 billion at current prices. Considering CZ’s ownership of Binance, he would have approximately 52 million additional BNB from this source.

Forbes believes that CZ owns nearly 94 million BNB tokens in total, but a 50% liquidity discount was applied to his stake due to the difficulty of selling such a large amount. Despite CZ’s guilty plea and settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice in 2023, Binance’s dominance in the cryptocurrency exchange market has continued to grow. As CZ serves his four-month sentence in California’s Lompoc II federal correctional facility, BNB has seen a significant surge in 2024, outpacing other major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), and Solana (SOL).

The lack of transparency surrounding Binance’s operations, as well as the high percentage of BNB trading on its own exchange, raises concerns about the token’s liquidity and value. However, CZ’s wealth continues to increase as his BNB holdings grow, showcasing the unpredictable and controversial nature of the cryptocurrency industry.