Yesterday, news suddenly began to circulate that Binance founder Zhao Changpeng (CZ) had been released from prison, sparking heated discussions in the crypto community. According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, Zhao Changpeng, 47, has been transferred from the low-security Lompoc II prison to the Residential Reentry Management (RRM) in Long Beach, a place designed for prisoners who are about to finish their sentences to prepare for reintegration into society.
RRMs, also known as halfway houses or community correction centers, are facilities managed by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP). Their primary purpose is to help individuals transition smoothly from incarceration back into society. These offices provide an organized environment where inmates can receive support services, including job training, drug treatment, and other rehabilitation programs to assist with their reintegration into society.
In other words, Zhao Changpeng has indeed left prison, but is still under the supervision of the US government and has not yet fully regained his freedom. He must complete the remaining sentence in a halfway house. Zhao Changpeng has not left the United States since he pleaded guilty in November last year. He will be officially released on September 29 and is expected to return directly to Dubai to reunite with his family. (Previous: Binance founder Zhao Changpeng has been imprisoned! He will be released at the end of the year and will return to the arena to start a new chapter in his life!)
Inspired by this news, BNB rose 3.4% in the past 24 hours, and has rebounded by more than 40% compared with the lowest point in recent days. Moreover, there is only one month left before Zhao Changpeng is actually released from prison. Recently, some people have begun to ambush spot, and even meme coins such as Freecz have begun to be deployed on the chain. They said that Zhao Changpeng's return is likely to drive up the price of BNB, and the medium-term goal is to gain the positive expectations brought by CZ's release from prison.
What’s also interesting is that while Zhao Changpeng was in prison, his wealth continued to grow. Currently, Zhao Changpeng owns more than 60% of BNB, and his net worth has reached $61 billion, making him the 24th richest person in the world. The main source of Zhao Changpeng’s wealth is his investment in the cryptocurrency field and the large amount of BNB he holds.
Data shows that Zhao Changpeng and the founding team received 80 million BNB tokens. During the ICO in 2017, Binance claimed to sell 100 million BNB at $0.15 per coin, raising less than $5 million. But Forbes said that only 10.8 million BNB were actually sold, and the remaining 58 million unsold BNB were redirected to Zhao Changpeng and Binance, worth $35 billion. It is estimated that among the BNB holders, Zhao Changpeng owns 90% of the shares in Binance, and his net worth has reached $61 billion due to the rise of BNB.
BNB’s market capitalization has experienced significant growth over the past few years, driven not only by increased trading volume on Binance, but also by the platform’s expanding ecosystem, including Binance Chain, Binance Smart Chain Binance Smart Chain), etc., provide a solid infrastructure for decentralized finance (DeFi) and attract a large number of developers and users. Against this background, the market value of BNB continues to rise, and Changpeng Zhao's wealth also increases accordingly.
Holding a large amount of BNB enables Zhao Changpeng to maintain a relatively stable wealth growth in the market fluctuations, and the current value of BNB has exceeded the value of SOL currency, returning to the fourth largest cryptocurrency in the world. Therefore, Zhao Changpeng's holding behavior has also become an important indicator of market confidence. Investors generally believe that Zhao Changpeng's large holdings are a strong optimism about the future development of BNB.
Zhao Changpeng is not only a leading figure in the cryptocurrency industry, but also a symbol of technological innovation and business acumen. Despite being behind bars, his growing wealth not only demonstrates his personal success, but also reflects the huge potential of the cryptocurrency market. By holding a large amount of BNB, Zhao Changpeng has demonstrated his keen insight and firm confidence in the market.
At the same time, industry analysts predict that Zhao Changpeng's return may bring a series of new market trends and continue to provide long-term price support for BNB. Zhao Changpeng's experience and achievements indicate the infinite possibilities and future development potential of the cryptocurrency market. His return and future actions will undoubtedly continue to bring new vitality and opportunities to the cryptocurrency market.
