{"id":85420,"date":"2023-10-06T14:42:20","date_gmt":"2023-10-06T11:42:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/?p=85420"},"modified":"2025-09-12T23:12:35","modified_gmt":"2025-09-12T20:12:35","slug":"binances-story-as-told-by-forbes-from-ico-to-a-multi-billion-dollar-business","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/binances-story-as-told-by-forbes-from-ico-to-a-multi-billion-dollar-business\/","title":{"rendered":"Binance\u2019s story as told by Forbes \u2014 from ICO to a multi-billion-dollar business"},"content":{"rendered":"

Forbes conducted an investigation into the rise of the leading cryptocurrency exchange Binance \u2014 from a virtually failed ICO<\/a> in 2017 to large reserves of digital assets.<\/p>\n

Experts from Gray Wolf Analytics and Inca Digital contributed.<\/p>\n

Journalists noted that the platform is currently facing an \u201cexistential crisis\u201d due to lawsuits CFTC<\/span><\/a> and SEC<\/span><\/a>, layoffs<\/a> and refusal<\/a> by a number of payment companies to cooperate. In their view, the greatest difficulty lies in reduction in trading activity<\/a>, which reduced BNB\u2019s capitalization \u2014 a key element of its operating model \u2014 by 68% from ATH<\/span>.<\/p>\n

Failed ICO?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

2017 was a boom year for token sales \u2014 in the first half of the year the market rose fivefold, and hundreds of digital assets appeared. After the idea to issue BNB was proposed by Binance management on June 17, and the white paper was published the next day, the process took just two weeks to complete.<\/p>\n

Below is a screenshot of Binance\u2019s site (accessible via the web archive) that reveals the token sale roadmap. That information is now removed.<\/p>\n

\n
\\\"21314-13\\\"
Data: Forbes.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) described the $15 million raised at 15 cents per BNB as a \u201chuge success.\u201d The funds went toward building the trading platform, and, to a greater extent, toward marketing.<\/p>\n

According to the white paper, of the 200 million BNB issued, 100 million were allocated to the token sale, the remainder to insiders (80 million) and angel investors (20 million).<\/p>\n

Binance pledged to buy back and burn half of the 200 million BNB. The asset\u2019s price has reached $213, though at its peak it rose to $675, which made Zhao a billionaire with a net worth of $10 billion.<\/p>\n

According to Forbes on-chain analysis, the above picture did not match reality. Instead of the claimed 100 million BNB, the exchange allocated only 10.78 million, with an additional 20 million passed to angel investors. As a result, the platform raised less than $5 million rather than the $15 million claimed, the publication asserts.<\/p>\n

The problem is not unique to Binance. According to Financial Markets and Portfolio Management, from March 2016 to March 2018 across 306 ICOs:<\/p>\n