A period in prison can be the lowest point of a person’s life. It can bring numerous hardships – those concerning one’s financial aspirations would be the worst. No argument there, for there is no reason for a period of remorsefulness to be better than what it is now. Interestingly, a recent Forbes article about Binance Founder Changpeng Zhao’s wealth provides a startling picture. Something nobody would expect!
The Unbelievable Growth of CZ’s Wealth: Behind the Prison Walls
Binance founder, known by his short name, CZ, began his prison sentence on June 2, 2024, after he had agreed to a plea deal, in order to settle charges leveled against him by various US authorities related to his company’s alleged violations of the Bank Secrecy Act. He walked out of the low-security prison at Lompoc in California on September 27, after serving nearly three months behind bars.
According to Forbes, at the time he entered the prison, his wealth was roughly $33 billion, and by the time he left the prison, it grew to an astounding level of $61 billion. From the data released by Forbes, it is clear that an increase of at least $28 billion occurred during the prison period.
A news report says that Forbes considered CZ’s equity stakes in Binance-affiliated companies and his personal holdings in cryptos to calculate his net worth.
Notably, Zhao has huge personal holdings in cryptocurrencies, especially Bitcoin and Binance Coin.
Looking at the daily chart of Bitcoin, on June 2, the price of BTC was around $67,724. On September 27, it dropped to $65,809.
Analyzing the Binance Coin daily chart, on June 2, the Binance coin price was nearly $602.7. On September 27, it slightly increased to $607.7.
Based on the chart data, though the Binance Coin market contributed a slight rise of 0.82%, the Bitcoin market created a loss of 2% during the period.
Experts Dispute Reports of CZ’s Massive Wealth Gains During Incarceration
Just as the chart data contradicts the view of Forbes regarding CZ’s wealth growth, Bloomberg provided a contradictory view, supporting experts who disagreed with what Forbes observed.
As per Bloomberg, during his time in prison, CZ’s wealth dropped from $36.5 billion to $30.8 billion. This 18.8% decrease was observed using a methodology similar to the one used by Forbes.
A news report indicates that Bloomberg considered certain additional factors like the loss in the reputation of Binance as a brand.
Anyway, Binance is still the top cryptocurrency exchange, with a total monthly visit of 53 million. It has a 24-hour trading volume of $17,590,622,613. On June 2, the exchange trade volume was $10,064,043,376. By September 27, it reached $17,010,578,954. In the last three months, the volume mostly hovered between $18,810,836,736 and $6.420.997.018. On August 5, it hit a peak of $38,229,544,392.
In conclusion, neither we have a reason to believe that Binance as a brand suffered any damage in its brand value during CZ’s time in prison, nor do we have any data to assume that the daily operations of the company were affected during the period. The contradictory nature of Forbes’ and Bloomberg’s findings about CZ’s wealth reflects the fact that it is not easy to access the wealth of those whose wealth are centered in cryptos and crypto-related companies – known for its volatility and unpredictability
