On September 27, Changpeng Zhao was released early from custody, and the price of Bitcoin and Binance BNB tokens declined since the beginning of the trading day.
Zhao was the 24th richest individual in the world at the time, with a net worth of approximately $61 billion as of June 2024, according to a previous Forbes report. He possesses 64% of the total BNB supply.
The report’s publication prompted apprehension regarding the token’s centralization due to Zhao’s extensive holdings of Binance‘s native currency.
At the time of writing, Changpeng Zhao’s 94 million BNB tokens are valued at approximately $57 billion, a substantial decrease from the $700 reached in June 2024.
The original Binance team was initially allocated 80 million BNB tokens, according to a 2024 analysis conducted by Gray Wolf Analytics and Forbes. Furthermore, approximately 46 million tokens are still in the company’s possession.
Changpeng Zhao & DOJ charges and settlement Affect BNB Price
In 2023, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) announced proceedings against Binance and Zhao, alleging that the Binance founder had violated the Bank Secrecy Act.
The government regulators, including the US Department of the Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control, the US Department of the Treasury Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, stated in a joint filing:
“While Binance is not a publicly traded company, Binance is the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world and news related to Zhao and Binance’s criminal and civil liability is likely to have a significant effect on trading of various cryptocurrencies.”
Following the announcement of a $4 billion settlement between Binance and the Securities and Exchange Commission on Nov. 21, the price of BNB increased by approximately 7% within 24 hours. This assertion proved to be accurate.
The SEC settlement resulted in a $4.3 billion loss for Binance, and Zhao was also fined an additional $50 million as part of the agreement.
Furthermore, the Department of Justice mandated that Binance undergo independent monitoring for the subsequent three years and designated the Forensic Risk Alliance to oversee the company’s business operations.
