Former Binance CEO ‘CZ’ owns 64% of BNB distribution – Report
Former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) owns 64% of Binance Coin's (BNB) distribution supply, or approximately 94 million BNB tokens, according to a Forbes report.
According to a forensic analysis by Gray Wolf Analytics and FinancialSocket, 80 million BNB tokens were allocated to Binance's founding team, and the company still controls 46 million of the original tokens.
The report also states that Binance and CZ together hold 71 percent of the 147 million BNB. Zhao's 90% equity in Binance and the value of his crypto holdings make him the 24th richest person on the planet, with a net worth of $61 billion.
BNB tokenomics
BNB is a native token of the Binance exchange used for payments and rewards on the Binance platform. The utility token has a maximum supply of 200 million, with more than 153 million BNB tokens distributed on the market.
Related: Binance founder CZ receives support from crypto community as jail term begins
At $593 per token, BNB's current market cap is over $91 billion. BNB is enjoying a bull run that has more than doubled the token price from a low of $290 in January 2024 to a high of $724 in June.
Department of Justice v CZ
In the year In 2023, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that it had indicted Zhao and Binance for violating sanctions and anti-money laundering laws. Zhao, who was the CEO at the time, made a plea deal with US Attorneys.
CZ pleaded guilty to violating the Bank Secrecy Act and agreed to step down from his leadership role at Binance; He was replaced by current CEO Richard Teng. The settlement includes a $50 million fine for the former CEO and a $4.3 billion fine for Binance. In addition, the DOJ also appointed the Forensic Risk Alliance, an independent consulting firm, to serve as Binance's regulator over the next three years.
On April 30, Zhao was sentenced by US federal judge Richard Jones to four months in prison, far short of the three years recommended by US prosecutors for his role in evading sanctions violations and facilitating money laundering.
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