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The net assets of Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong and Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) have been hit hard by recent lawsuits from the US securities regulator.
According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index and Forbes, Armstrong’s net worth fell $289 million and Zhao’s net worth fell $1.33 billion within 30 hours after the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sued Binance on June 5 , and then on Coinbase on June 6th.
Zhao — the richest person in the cryptocurrency industry and the 54th richest person overall — has lost 5.1% to $26 billion this week.
While the Binance CEO net worth is up over 106% this year, he is still 73% short of his highest net worth of $96.9B in January 2022.
Armstrong is ranked the 1409th richest person by Forbes and he has been the hardest hit by the latest SEC action, with his net worth falling 11.8% to $2.2 billion.
The CEO of Coinbase has managed to reap the benefits of the market recovery this year, having increased his net worth by 61% during this time.
Despite a recent drop, Zhao and Armstrong’s net worth has increased by far more than the 9% year-to-date for other rich people on the Bloomberg list.
Related: SEC Files Restraining Order Petition Against Binance
The SEC has sued both Binance and Coinbase, alleging that the exchanges violated various securities regulations, primarily over the alleged offering of cryptocurrencies, which the regulator considers unregistered securities.
After these sets, a total of 67 cryptocurrencies were classified as securities by the SEC.
Binance and Coinbase have confirmed that they will “strongly” defend the lawsuits against them.