Binance co-founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao’s reported BNB holdings have rocketed past an estimated value of $75.8 billion as the token breached new all-time highs on Monday.
BNB (BNB) tapped a new high of $850.70 on Monday, according to Nansen. Analysts said token burns, rising chain metrics and whale activity could be reasons for the price hike.
A June 2024 Forbes report noted CZ holds 64% of the circulating BNB supply of 139.3, with Binance controlling another 7%, meaning the former crypto exchange CEO holds around 89.1 million tokens.
In February, CZ said in a post on Binance Square that 98% of his portfolio was in BNB, and 1.32% in Bitcoin (BTC).
The Forbes richest billionaires list has him ranked at number 23, with a net worth of $71 billion, based on a reported 90% stake in Binance and his BNB stash.
The $75.8 billion from BNB alone would put him above American philanthropist Julia Koch and her family, who have a 42% Stake in Koch Industries, the second-largest privately held company in America.
BNB spike based on rising chain metrics
Dominick John, an analyst at Kronos Research, told Cointelegraph that BNB's 12% rise in the last seven days comes amid rising chain metrics, such as total value locked (TVL), stablecoin market cap and decentralized crypto exchange PancakeSwap volume all climbing to 2025 all-time highs.
Related: Binance’s BNB Chain rebounds amid institutional, DeFi adoption
At the same time, he said, whale wallets stacking BNB and treasury demand are picking up. Chinese microchip firm Nano Labs in June kicked off its plan to hold up to 10% of the total circulating supply of BNB.
“To keep this momentum going, treasury demand needs to stay strong, BNB Chain metrics like TVL and PancakeSwap volume must keep trending up, and quarterly burns have to continue cutting supply, all while avoiding any major negative macro news that could shake the market.”
BNB Smart Chain’s Maxwell upgrade, which went live on June 30, also sparked speculation that a rally could be around the corner. At the time, the BNB Chain team said the upgrade was going to create faster blocks, better validator coordination, and smoother network performance.
BNB burn and whales could also be a factor
The initial supply of BNB was set at 200 million coins, but the supply is gradually decreasing because of the token burns initiated by Binance to reduce the number in circulation.
Kadan Stadelmann, chief technology officer of Komodo Platform, told Cointelegraph that the token burn program could have significant implications for the token’s price.
“The token burn program will decrease supply, and is in and of itself an attempt to aid BNB’s price.”
“Binance has conducted numerous BNB token burns in the past, which has both decreased supply and also led investors to expect more token burns are coming. The latest token burn bores this hypothesis out,” Stadelmann added.
Stadelmann said whales and corporate investors also wield a “disproportionate influence” on smaller markets such as BNB and proof-of-stake blockchains such as Binance.
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