While the cryptocurrency market has experienced a strong recovery since the beginning of the year, the wealth of Changpeng Zhao, the founder and CEO of Binance, the cryptocurrency exchange believed to be the richest in the market, has eroded by 80% since the start of the year.
Binance’s Tough Year Ahead in 2023
Binance is currently facing challenges on multiple fronts, particularly with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and other global regulators. The major cryptocurrency exchange reached its peak at the beginning of the year, controlling 62% of total cryptocurrency transactions in the first quarter.
This growth was primarily achieved by offering commission-free promotions for popular trading pairs. Alongside this growth, CZ’s net wealth was estimated to be a staggering $96 billion in January.
According to research firm CCData, Binance’s market share dropped to 51% at the end of the third quarter as the commission-free promotion program came to an end. Bloomberg data shows that the company’s revenue decreased by 38% due to drying up trading volumes during regulatory issues. Furthermore, Bloomberg Billionaires Index data reveals that this situation alone wiped $12 billion from CZ’s wealth, reducing it to $17.2 billion. This indicates that CZ’s wealth has declined by 80% since the beginning of the year.
Binance’s Ongoing Battle with the US SEC
In the past few months, Binance has become increasingly isolated from the traditional financial system. Following a lawsuit filed by the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in the first quarter for failing to comply with regulations allowing US users to use the Binance platform, the lawsuit filed by the SEC in June has shaken the cryptocurrency exchange.
Both the SEC and CFTC accuse the cryptocurrency exchange of inadequate anti-money laundering controls, inflating trading volumes, and misusing customer assets, among other serious allegations. Binance, however, denies all charges brought against it.
Furthermore, Bloomberg reset its valuation for the company after Binance.US announced that it will no longer support US dollar transactions. In a funding round in March 2022, Binance.US had a valuation of $4.7 billion.
