Ousted Binance founder CZ’s fortune grew by US$25 billion in 2023

HE MAY be headed to prison next year after pleading guilty to US criminal charges in November, yet 2023 held a silver lining for former Binance chief executive officer Zhao Changpeng: His estimated wealth ballooned by almost US$25 billion this year.

Towards the end of a year, when Bitcoin rebounded more than 160 per cent following a market collapse in 2022, Zhao tops a list of crypto entrepreneurs who saw their estimated net worth surge in 2023, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Coinbase Global CEO Brian Armstrong and twin brothers Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss also had billions of dollars restored to their fortunes.

“Investment in crypto is not for the faint of heart; you need to be prepared for the spectacular ups and downs,” said Campbell Harvey, a finance professor at Duke University who studies digital-asset markets. “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.”

The growth in wealth for Zhao, who goes by his initials CZ, is more than five times the size of the US$4.3 billion in fines that Binance agreed to pay to US authorities. His fortune, currently estimated at more than US$37 billion, is derived from his controlling stake in Binance, the world’s biggest crypto exchange, which he founded.

Even though Binance has lost some market share this year, the exchange has benefited from increases in trading volumes that accompanied the rebound in crypto markets. Zhao, who did not respond to a request for comment for this story, also owns some Bitcoin and Binance’s own coin, BNB, though those holdings are not included in the Billionaires Index.

In November, he and Binance pleaded guilty to anti-money laundering and US sanctions violations under a sweeping settlement with the US that allows the crypto exchange to continue operating. Zhao also agreed to personally pay a US$50 million fine under the deal that required him to step down as CEO, but lets him retain his ownership stake in the exchange.

Zhao faces as many as 10 years in prison yet is expected to get no more than 18 months under a plea deal that appears to have saved him from the harsh penalties that other prominent crypto criminals have faced. The Justice Department hasn’t revealed yet what length of term it will seek. In late November, a federal judge in Seattle ruled that Zhao can’t return to his home in the United Arab Emirates for now. Zhao’s sentencing is scheduled for Feb 23.

Zhao’s wealth is still a far cry from its peak of nearly US$97 billion at the beginning of 2022, and it’s even down from its year-to-date high of US$50.4 billion in July, per the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Zhao isn’t the only billionaire who benefited from the crypto rebound in 2023, which was fuelled in part by the Binance settlement that removed an overhang from the market, as well as by optimism that the US will finally approve exchange-traded funds that invest directly in Bitcoin. 

SEE ALSO

Let’s talk blockchain, not crypto

Bitcoin’s 160% rebound in 2023 is a gamble on ETF ‘demand shock’

Three Arrows founders’ global assets worth US$1.1 billion frozen

Here are some of the other big crypto winners in 2023:

• Coinbase’s Armstrong has seen his wealth rise by US$5.8 billion year to date to US$7.2 billion, per the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Coinbase’s shares have rallied almost 400 per cent so far this year, and Armstrong is calculated to hold about a 16 per cent stake in the company. Armstrong did not respond to a request for comment.

• Coinbase co-founder Fred Ehrsam’s estimated wealth swelled by US$1.8 billion in 2023 to a total of about US$2.5 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. He is estimated to hold about 5 per cent of Coinbase. The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sued Coinbase in June for operating as an unregistered securities exchange, broker, and clearing agency. Coinbase is fighting the case in court. Ehrsam did not respond to a request for comment.

• Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, who co-founded the Gemini Trust crypto exchange and have stockpiled millions of Bitcoin, have each seen their wealth balloon by US$1.4 billion this year to US$2.7 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Gemini has been locked in a months-long battle with crypto lender Genesis and its parent company Digital Currency Group (DCG) over a joint crypto-lending programme. The SEC has alleged that the so-called Earn programme represented an unregistered offer and sale of securities. Tyler Winklevoss described the lawsuit as amounting to a “manufactured parking ticket”. The New York Attorney General sued Gemini and DCG for allegedly defrauding customers of US$1.1 billion. DCG said it will fight the state’s allegations, while Gemini said it disagreed with the AG’s decision to sue the exchange. The twin brothers did not respond to requests for comment.

• DCG founder Barry Silbert’s wealth grew by US$1.5 billion this year to an estimated US$2 billion. DCG has been selling off or closing businesses in the past year in the wake of subsidiary Genesis filing for bankruptcy in January. Silbert declined to comment for this story.

• On the other hand, the imprisoned Sam Bankman-Fried, the former CEO of crypto exchange FTX who has been convicted of massive fraud, has an estimated net worth that’s holding steady at US$0, after peaking at US$25.9 billion in March of last year, per Bloomberg Billionaires Index. BLOOMBERG