Binance CEO and co-founder Changpeng Zhao has taken a personal hit from the market with his net worth dropping due to low trading volume.
The Bloomberg Billionaires Index index released on Oct. 26 showed Zhao's net worth reduced by $11.9 billion, a big drop from his $96.9 billion portfolio at the start of last year.
Previously ranked 11th on the world's richest list, the crypto boss now sits in 95th position with a net worth of $17.3 billion.
On the other hand, Sam Bankman-Fried, the former CEO of the bankrupt crypto exchange FTX that at the time competed with Binance, had his once-touted net worth of $16 billion wiped to zero.
Bankman-Fried is currently facing criminal and civil trials for his role in the FTX implosion in November 2022 that saw billions of dollars wiped from the market.
Zhao and Binance face a difficult road
The decline in Zhao's net worth can be attributed to a 38% drop in Binance trading volume due to new regulatory scrutiny of the digital asset exchange from the United States and global authorities.
Bloomberg calculated Zhao's net worth by relying on Binance spot and derivative trading volumes and fees posted on the website, using data from CoinGecko and Coinpaprika through October 2023.
Binance, which has 150 million users and is the largest exchange by trading volume, saw its share decline for seven consecutive months even after the collapse of its rival FTX.
According to some observers, the decline in trading volumes is largely due to the prolonged crypto winter that has affected all aspects of the market leading to many bankruptcies and a shortage of miners.
In January 2022, Binance trading volume reached more than 55% after the previous year's bull run that saw the price of Bitcoin (BTC) soar over $64,000
Binance and regulation
Recently, the exchange faced lawsuits from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) for allegedly offering trading services to unregistered securities, improper registration, commingling of user assets and improper marketing of derivatives. registered to the American market.
Although the exchange rejected the claims, users remained skeptical of the regulatory approach that increased with the exit of top executives from the company and its withdrawal from the Russian market.
Binance.US, the United States exchange entity, has taken a hit in recent months with trading volumes down compared to last year's figures. Zhao js reportedly owns 86% of shares in the company.
After the lawsuit, the company withdrew support for the dollar deal, which wiped out $1 billion of Zhao's fortune.
