Changpeng Zhao, the founder of Binance Holdings, the world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, is the richest man in the crypto industry.
CZ is in 23rd place on the Bloomberg Billionaire Index list despite paying over $7 billion in fines from judicial settlements last year.
CZ’s wealth increased to $59.1 billion due to the increase in Bitcoin prices, which approached an all-time high after surpassing $77K on Friday, and general growth in crypto trading volume.
CZ is the wealthiest man in the cryptocurrency sector and the second richest man in finance, after Warren Buffet ( $146 billion) .
Experts claimed that CZ’s overnight enrichment was caused by the surge in crypto values following Trump’s win. Bitcoin was up 10% this week and the global cryptocurrency market capitalizations grew by hundreds of billions of dollars, amplifying Binance’s equity value.
CZ’s 90% ownership in Binance, the biggest cryptocurrency exchange in the world with over 200 million registered users, is the main source of his wealth. According to Bloomberg, the company makes $9.8 billion in annualized revenue from spot and derivatives transactions, despite being private and not disclosing its financial information to the public. CZ has also stated that he owns BNB and Bitcoin.
The 47 year old billionaire claimed that he received offers to sell his majority stake in the exchange, which is equity that accounts for the majority of his wealth, but he would not say who had made the offers or how much they were asking for.
“I am not claiming that I will retain the equity indefinitely,” he stated. “I’m glad to consider any offer, but I haven’t taken any action as of yet. However, at this time, I’m just a typical shareholder’.
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