Bitrabo Editorial
The price of Binance Coin (BNB), the native token of the leading crypto platform Binance, soared to a record high of $725 on June 6th. This surge coincided with the initial week of the four-month prison term for Binance’s founder, Changpeng Zhao (CZ), which has propelled him to the status of the richest individual ever incarcerated in a US federal prison.
Despite legal issues, BNB’s market cap exceeded $109 billion in the recent week, based on data from CoinGecko as reported by Bloomberg.
BNB’s Price Surge Reflecting Binance’s Success
According to Bloomberg, the price surge of Binance Coin mirrors the growth of the exchange itself, with assets on the platform increasing from around $80 billion in early January to $125 billion presently. This growth reinforces Binance’s leading position in the crypto sector, despite challenges in the past, including a significant fine of $4.3 billion paid last year to resolve a case with US authorities.
BNB holders enjoy trading fee discounts and use the token for fee settlements on Binance Smart Chain, a popular blockchain among various crypto applications.
The recent surge in BNB’s value was anticipated by derivative market activities in late May and rising spot demand in June, with more buying than selling observed between June 2 and 5, according to Kaiko analyst Dessislava Aubert.
Although BNB is traded on multiple exchanges, Binance remains the primary platform, accounting for 85% of BNB’s global trading volume.
Binance Founder CZ’s Net Worth Surpasses $38 Billion
Despite facing allegations of anti-money laundering (AML) and sanctions violations, including allowing access to the exchange by groups like Hamas and Al Qaeda, Zhao settled by personally paying a $50 million fine.
Nevertheless, this fine pales in comparison to Zhao’s estimated net worth of $38.5 billion, primarily held in BNB, making him the 40th wealthiest person globally, with a $4.1 billion gain in 2024, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
The exact amount of BNB Zhao possesses remains undisclosed, but an ICO whitepaper from 2017 revealed that the founding team was allocated 80 million tokens, now valued at around $56 billion.
Despite the challenges faced by Binance and its co-founder, the surge in BNB’s value underscores the ongoing interest and confidence in the token and its ecosystem.
Currently, BNB is trading at $652, experiencing a 4% decrease in the last 24 hours but showing a notable 176% increase year-to-date.
Image source: DALL-E, chart from TradingView.com