{"id":1446464,"date":"2023-12-29T10:45:00","date_gmt":"2023-12-29T15:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/?p=1446464"},"modified":"2023-12-29T10:45:00","modified_gmt":"2023-12-29T15:45:00","slug":"crime-pays-binance-founder-czs-net-worth-rose-by-almost-25-billion-in-2023","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/crime-pays-binance-founder-czs-net-worth-rose-by-almost-25-billion-in-2023\/1446464\/","title":{"rendered":"Crime Pays: Binance Founder CZ’s Net Worth Rose By Almost $25 Billion In 2023"},"content":{"rendered":"

Crime Pays: Binance Founder CZ’s Net Worth Rose By Almost $25 Billion In 2023<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

It’s appears to be another clear cut case of “crime pays”.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Binance Holdings Chief Executive Officer\u00a0Changpeng Zhao – who plead guilty to criminal charges and is facing prison time next year –\u00a0 saw his net worth rise by almost $25 billion in 2023, according to Bloomberg<\/a>.<\/p>\n

He’s been one of the biggest beneficiaries of Bitcoin’s stunning rise in 2023, up nearly 160% from the collapse in markets in 2022.\u00a0<\/p>\n

How’s that for something to think about while you’re sitting in the klink counting down the days until your release?<\/em><\/p>\n

CZ’s wealth has surged to over $37 billion, notably surpassing the $4.3 billion fine Binance paid to U.S. authorities<\/strong>. This fortune stems from his majority stake in Binance, the largest crypto exchange globally, which he founded.<\/p>\n

Despite a dip in market share, Binance has profited from higher trading volumes amid crypto market recovery. Zhao also owns Bitcoin and Binance’s BNB, that were not counted in Bloomberg’s\u00a0<\/em>wealth estimate.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

In a significant settlement with the U.S., Zhao and Binance admitted to anti-money laundering and sanctions violations earlier this year, allowing the exchange to remain operational. Zhao personally paid a $50 million fine and stepped down as CEO but kept his ownership stake.<\/p>\n

Facing a potential 10-year prison sentence, Zhao is likely to serve no more than 18 months due to a plea deal.<\/strong> The exact term sought by the Justice Department is unknown. A federal judge recently barred him from returning to his UAE home, with sentencing set for February 23, the report says.\u00a0<\/p>\n

His wealth had peaked at around $97 billion at the beginning of 2022, the report notes. It’s year to date high was about $50.4 billion in July of 2023.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Campbell Harvey, a finance professor at Duke University who studies digital-asset markets, told Bloomberg<\/a>:\u00a0\u201cInvestment in crypto is not for the faint of heart; you need to be prepared for the spectacular ups and downs. There is a reason that these investors are billionaires, and it is not luck. They are not tempted to dump their holdings in down markets. They believe in the long-term opportunities this space offers.\u201d<\/p>\n

If Bitcoin continues to hold and with the clock ticking already on days until he is a free man once again, CZ may have already hit his “spectacular” low. And if Bitcoin has another stellar year, we’ll be left to ask: has anyone ever become the richest person in the world\u00a0while\u00a0<\/em>serving a prison sentence?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Tyler Durden<\/a><\/span>
\nFri, 12\/29\/2023 – 05:45<\/span><\/p>\n

\u200bhttps:\/\/www.zerohedge.com\/markets\/crime-pays-binance-founder-czs-net-worth-rose-almost-25-billion-2023<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Crime Pays: Binance Founder CZ’s Net Worth Rose By Almost $25 Billion In 2023 It’s appears to be another clear cut case of “crime pays”.\u00a0…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1446464","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","wpcat-1-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1446464","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1446464"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1446464\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1446464"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1446464"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1446464"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}