BNB Hits New ATH Above $850, CZ’s 64% Stake Raises Centralization Red Flags

• The price of BNB reached a new all-time high of $859.56 before pulling back slightly.
• CZ reportedly owns 64% of BNB’s circulating supply, totaling an estimated 89.1 million tokens.
• BNB futures OI surged to $1.58B, reflecting strong inflows and bullish market sentiment

According to CoinMarketCap, the price of Binance Coin (BNB) reached a new all-time high of $859.56, catapulting the net worth of former Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao to an estimated $76 billion. This surge, which is fueled by the burning of tokens, chain activity, institutional interest, and more, puts CZ in the ranks of the world elite in terms of wealth, as now his fortune surpasses that of Julia Koch, heir to the Koch Industries.

As indicated in a June report by Forbes, CZ controls 64% of BNB’s circulating supply, or 89.1 million tokens, providing him with an earth-shattering stake in the crypto ecosystem. A further 7% is said to be in possession of Binance itself. Based on this present price, CZ’s BNB holdings alone have a value in excess of $76 billion, not counting his estimated 90% share of Binance itself or even smaller holdings of Bitcoin.

CZ’s $76B BNB Stake Sparks Decentralization Debate

BNB has climbed 48% year-over-year, fueled by a mix of regular token burns, growing on-chain activity, and substantial whale accumulation. In contrast to Bitcoin and Ethereum, which are driven by decentralized technological innovation, BNB thrives due to Binance’s control over its blockchain, tokenomics, and utility across its ecosystem.

This has enabled Binance to create token scarcity by burning and generate value by using incentives, which benefits BNB holders, most notably, CZ himself. However, this great extent of wealth concentration has been of concern.

With one user having nearly two-thirds of the token’s supply, criticism is mounting regarding the threat of centralization and its implications for market dynamics. Compared to Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin or the unknown creator of Bitcoin, Satoshi Nakamoto, who each own a fraction of their respective tokens, Zhao has a massive stake in BNB, which means the success of the crypto is closely connected to one person.

What makes this even more complicated is that BNB has relatively low liquidity, which implies that CZ will not be able to simply sell his holdings at the market price without causing significant price distortions. Consequently, despite his seemingly astronomical net worth on paper, the actualization of the monetary value of his wealth is minimal, casting additional doubt on the sustainability and decentralization of the BNB ecosystem.

BNB Price Discovery Continues with Strong Interest

Binance Coin (BNB) edged slightly lower to $834 on Monday, pulling back from its recent all-time high, while remaining firmly within a bullish ascending channel. However, this minor sell-off has yet to subdue the market’s mood, as the token is on the verge of testing a breakout to the psychological resistance at $900.

Weekly chart data show BNB is still in price discovery, as it trades on a wave of market optimism and bullish technical indicators. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) is at 72.48, which is overbought, meaning that a short-term correction is likely, but is also headed sideways, meaning that demand is consistent.

Technical indicators are still on the bulls’ side. The MACD line at 43.19 and the signal line at 20.69 indicate increasing momentum. This view is supported by the fact that the green histogram bars are steadily growing, which is a typical bullish indicator that momentum is gaining under the surface.

Related: Nano Labs Adds 8,000 BNB, Raising Total Holdings to 128,000 Tokens

Nevertheless, should BNB not continue to exert upward pressure, it may revisit the previous highs of around $793, which coincides with the Fibonacci 100% mark of the weekly chart, a critical support level. A successful rebound from that area would probably strengthen the uptrend.

Meanwhile, according to Coinglass data, BNB Futures Open Interest (OI) has reached an all-time high of $1.58 billion, up from $1.20 billion just a day earlier. This $380 million surge in capital inflows into BNB derivatives reflects heightened speculative interest and firm trader conviction.

The remarkable price surge of BNB to an all-time high has generated robust market impetus, with the bullish technical signals and the increasing open interest indicating a possible extension to the $900-mark and beyond. 

Regardless, with BNB increasing in value and popularity, there are still concerns about centralization. The fact that CZ owns nearly two-thirds of the circulating supply raises serious questions about the control of the market, the liquidity, and decentralization: a factor that can weigh heavily on investor confidence unless it is addressed in the long term.