A period in prison can be one of the lowest points in a person’s life, filled with various hardships, especially when it comes to financial goals. Surprisingly, a recent Forbes article about Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) reveals a shocking story of wealth growth that defies expectations.
One thing we can agree on – you won’t expect this.
Changpeng Zhao began his prison sentence on June 2, 2024, after agreeing to a plea deal to settle charges from U.S. authorities over alleged violations of the Bank Secrecy Act. He was released from a low-security facility in Lompoc, California, on September 27, having served nearly three months.
According to Forbes, when CZ entered prison, his wealth was around $33 billion. By the time he left, it had jumped to an incredible $61 billion—an increase of at least $28 billion during his time behind bars. Forbes attributed this wealth growth to CZ’s equity stakes in Binance-affiliated companies and his significant cryptocurrency holdings.
Zhao’s personal cryptocurrency investments, particularly in Bitcoin and Binance Coin, played a key role in this wealth change.
On June 2, Bitcoin (BTC) was priced at about $67,724, but by September 27, it had dropped to $65,809, reflecting a loss of about 2%. Meanwhile, Binance Coin (BNB) saw a slight increase from nearly $602.70 to $607.70, which is a rise of just 0.82%.
However, the findings from Forbes sparked debate, as Bloomberg offered a different perspective. According to Bloomberg, during CZ’s imprisonment, his wealth reportedly fell from $36.5 billion to $30.8 billion, marking an 18.8% decrease using a similar calculation method to Forbes. Bloomberg’s analysis included other factors, such as the reputational damage to the Binance brand.
Despite the differing reports on Zhao’s wealth, Binance remains the leading cryptocurrency exchange. The platform attracted 53 million monthly visitors and reported a 24-hour trading volume of $17,590,622,613. On June 2, trading volume was $10,064,043,376, which increased to $17,010,578,954 by September 27, with peaks reaching $38,229,544,392 on August 5.
In conclusion, there’s little reason to believe that Binance’s brand value suffered during CZ’s prison time, nor do the data suggest significant changes in the company’s daily operations. The contrasting findings from Forbes and Bloomberg about Zhao’s wealth highlight the difficulty in accurately assessing the fortunes of individuals whose wealth is closely linked to the volatile cryptocurrency market.
It seems like the prison bars couldn’t contain CZ’s financial empire. What do you think?
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