Binance Founder Earned Over $25M Per Day While in Prison: Report

• Former Binance founder Changpeng Zhao reportedly made over $25 million per day while in prison.
• Zhao spent 117 days in Lompoc II, a minimum security prison near Santa Barbara.
• Forbes reported that Zhao’s net worth rose from $36.5B to $61B while Bloomberg reported a loss.

Former Binance founder Changpeng Zhao allegedly earned over $25 million per day while in prison. According to a recent Forbes report, Zhao’s net worth rose from $36.5 billion on June 2 to $61 billion by September 27 while incarcerated.

Although Forbes did not disclose its methodology of the report, earlier data suggests that the firm accounted for Zhao’s crypto holdings and applied a less conservative discount on his equity. Further, the data focused on the wealth acquired by Zhao in equity from private-led Binance-affiliated companies. However, considering the circumstances surrounding the privately held equities and the fact that Zhao is under no obligation to publicly report his assets, the authenticity of the report remains unclear.

Read also : Changpeng Zhao Release Date: The Truth Behind the Rumors

Meanwhile, Bloomberg provided a contrasting report which stated that the former CEO of Binance has lost money while in prison. Bloomberg valued Zhao’s holdings of BTC, BNB, and Binance.us at $0 while discounting his Binance.com equity by 50% from the average EV-to-sales multiple of three peers, including Coinbase Global Inc, Galaxy Digital Holdings Ltd, and Riot Platforms Inc.

This report showed Zhao’s net worth was $36.5 billion as of June 2 but dropped to $30.8 by September 27, when Zhao regained his freedom. The Binance founder spent 117 days in  Lompoc II, a minimum security prison near Santa Barbara, after pleading guilty to willful violations of the Bank Secrecy Act that enabled money laundering through the Binance crypto exchange.

Read also : Court Rules Changpeng Zhao’s 4-Month Sentence, Prosecutors Criticize

Notably, Zhao had paid over $50 million in penalty. He has also refrained from publicly disputing the Statement of Facts from the US government’s lawsuit against Binance. Zhao, whose original release date was September 29, was released two days earlier, owing to the fact that the date fell on a weekend. 

Considering Forbes’ report and its estimation of Zhao’s net worth, it implies the renowned crypto personality earned approximately $25 million for each of the 117 days he spent in jail.