Binance Founder Zhao Released From Custody as BNB Dips, Representing $13B Reduction in His Net Worth

Binance founder Changpeng Zhao was released early from custody on Sept. 27, and the price of Bitcoin (BTC) and Binance's BNB (BNB) token dipped slightly since the start of the trading day.

Binance founder Changpeng ‘CZ’ Zhao was released early from custody on Sept. 27, and the price of Bitcoin ( BTC ) and Binance’s BNB token dipped at the start of the trading day.

As of Friday morning, BTC’s price slid by 0.33% over the past 24 hours to sell for $65,980.99, while BNB’s price dropped by 0.07% to go for $608.49. Both crypto assets experienced a seven-day price decrease of 6.63% and 7.03%, respectively.

According to a previous Forbes report, Zhao holds 64% of the total BNB supply, which placed the entrepreneur’s net worth at $61 billion in June 2024 and made him the 24th richest person in the world at the time.

Zhao's vast holdings of Binance's native currency sparked concern about the centralization of the token when the report was published.

Today, the 94 million BNB tokens held by Zhao are worth roughly $57 billion at the time of writing — a significant reduction when measured against prices in June 2024, which topped $700.

A 2024 analysis by Gray Wolf Analytics and Forbes showed that 80 million BNB tokens were initially allocated to the original Binance team, and the company still holds about 46 million of those tokens.

The price of BNB has been largely influenced by the founder's vast holdings of the token and the regulatory actions taken against Binance.

In 2023, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) announced charges against Binance and Zhao, alleging that the Binance founder violated the Bank Secrecy Act by not registering Binance with the proper authorities and failing to maintain an effective anti-money laundering program.

“Binance and its executives failed to implement and maintain a compliant anti-money laundering program, despite red flags and clear legal obligations,” the statement reads. “As a result, Binance was used as a conduit for substantial illicit transactions, facilitating the flow of dirty money into the cryptocurrency ecosystem.”

This statement turned out to be accurate, and on Nov. 21, the price of BNB rose by approximately 7% within 24 hours following news of a $4 billion settlement between Binance and the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The SEC settlement ended up costing Binance $4.3 billion, and Zhao was fined an additional $50 million as part of the agreement. The DOJ also stipulated that Binance must have independent monitoring for the next three years and appointed the Forensic Risk Alliance to oversee the company's business operations.

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