The net worths of Brian Armstrong, CEO of oinbase">Coinbase, and Changpeng Zhao (CZ), CEO of Binance, have been significantly impacted by recent lawsuits brought forth by the US securities regulator.
Data from the Bloomberg Billionaires Index and Forbes indicate that within a 30-hour period after the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) filed lawsuits against Binance on June 5 and oinbase">Coinbase on June 6, Brian Armstrong’s net worth was reduced by $289 million and Changpeng Zhao’s by $1.33 billion.
Changpeng Zhao, who holds the status of the wealthiest individual in the cryptocurrency industry and the 54th richest person globally, experienced a decline of 5.1% in his net worth this week, which now stands at $26 billion.
Despite experiencing a rebound of over 106% in his net worth this year, the CEO of Binance remains down by more than 73% from his peak net worth of $96.9 billion, which was achieved in January 2022.
Forbes ranks Brian Armstrong as the 1,409th richest individual, and he experienced a larger setback from the SEC’s recent actions, with his net worth declining by 11.8% to $2.2 billion.
Although Changpeng Zhao and Brian Armstrong have experienced recent declines in their net worth, they have still achieved substantial increases in comparison to the 9% year-to-date returns of other individuals on Bloomberg’s rich list. Additionally, while Zhao, who holds the title of the wealthiest person in the cryptocurrency industry, saw a 5.1% decrease in his net worth this week, he has enjoyed a net worth increase of over 106% since the beginning of this year. Similarly, Brian Armstrong has seen a 61% increase in his net worth this year, despite the 11.8% drop caused by the SEC’s recent actions.
The Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) filed lawsuits against both Binance and oinbase">Coinbase, accusing the exchanges of violating several securities regulations, particularly for allegedly providing cryptocurrencies that the regulator deems to be unregistered securities.
As a result of the lawsuits filed by the SEC against Binance and oinbase">Coinbase, the regulatory body has now classified a total of 67 cryptocurrencies as securities. In response to the allegations, both Binance and oinbase">Coinbase have expressed their intention to defend themselves against the lawsuits with great determination.
