CZ’s release was supposed to launch Uptober — instead, we lost $200B
Fans of Binance cheered on September 27 when founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) walked free from US Bureau of Prisons custody. One of crypto’s wealthiest entrepreneurs had seemingly emerged victorious – fines paid, prison sentence served, and according to Forbes, billions of dollars richer. However, a health check of the market indicates that CZ was better for crypto prices while he was in prison. Whether by luck or cause, CZ’s departure from his Lompoc II prison and California halfway house has been bad news for crypto investors. Indeed, Binance’s own estimate of the market capitalization of all crypto assets has declined by $200 billion since CZ was freed last week. Binance’s own exchange token has fared even worse, declining 9% since his departure date . Binance’s exchange token BNB has declined 9% since CZ’s release. CZ pleaded guilty to permitting money laundering on Binance, paid a $50 million fine, and received a four-month prison sentence. Many people were expecting h...