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BNB, a cryptocurrency linked to Binance and its now-imprisoned co-founder Changpeng Zhao, rose to a record high in the first week of Zhao's four-month prison sentence in the US.
This rise also underscores Zhao's position as the richest person in a US federal prison. Zhao surrendered to a California prison on Tuesday to begin a four-month prison sentence for failing to properly protect the world's largest crypto exchange from money laundering.
According to data from CoinGecko, the BNB price climbed to $717.48 on Thursday, increasing its market value to $109 billion. The token has more than doubled in price since the beginning of the year.
BNB's course also reflects Binance's own fortunes. The total value of assets on the exchange has risen from around $80 billion in early January to $125 billion today, consolidating its dominance even after an unstable period last year that culminated in the company paying a historic $4.3 billion fine to settle a case with U.S. authorities.
BNB holders receive trading fee discounts on Binance, and the token is also used to pay fees on the BNB Smart Chain, a popular blockchain among crypto applications including games and exchanges.
According to Kaiko analyst Dessislava Aubert, BNB's recent rally was foreshadowed in derivatives market trading patterns from late May; Spot demand began to increase in June, with purchases consistently outpacing sales from June 2-5.
Aubert said BNB is traded on many centralized exchanges, which “is different from other exchange tokens that are traded almost exclusively on platforms affiliated with them.” He added that Binance still accounts for 85% of BNB volume globally.
*This is not investment advice.