According to a recent Forbes report, ex-Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao personally owns 94 million BNB tokens — which is roughly 64% of the token’s circulating supply.
Forensic analysis carried out by Gray Wolf Analytics and Forbes reveals that 80 million BNB were given to the Binance founding team after the exchange’s launch, and CZ still controls over half of those original tokens.
During Binance’s initial coin offering in 2017, 100 million BNB tokens were issued for the crowd sale. Forbes revealed that the ICO was undersubscribed, indicating the demand didn’t meet the available supply. Per the financial outlet’s analysis, less than 11 million tokens were sold during the ICO. The remaining unsold tokens were moved to Binance-controlled wallets.
Richest US Inmate
The Forbes report further noted that Binance and Zhao jointly own 71% of the 147 million BNB in circulation. CZ’s 90% equity stake in Binance and the value of his crypto stash have propelled him to become the 24th richest person in the world, with a $61 billion fortune. For comparison, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong is estimated to have a net worth of $11 billion.
At $606.62 per token, the current market capitalization of BNB stands at around $93 billion. The Binance-linked token has registered a parabolic bull rally that more than doubled the token’s value from lows of around $285 in January 2024 to a lifetime high of $717.48 earlier this month.
In November 2023, Zhao pleaded guilty in the U.S. for violating the Bank Secrecy Act and agreed to step down from his leadership role at Binance and pay a fine of $50 million. As part of the deal, Binance itself agreed to pay a whopping $4.3 billion fine in one of the largest corporate settlements in U.S. history. CZ was given a four-month sentence, which is much shorter than the 36 months recommended by U.S. prosecutors. He recently started his jail term in a low-security facility in California, making him the richest man to ever serve time in a federal prison.
