How Binance Turned Its Failed Token ICO Into A Billion Dollar Windfall

According to a Forbes investigation assisted by Gray Wolf Analytics and Inca Digital, BNB's ICO in 2017:

It would have sold only 10.78 million tokens instead of 100 million out of the total 200 million tokens minted by whitepaper.

It would then have raised in investment less than $5 million out of the $15 million target.

Would have doubled the allocation to angel investors from 20 to 40 million tokens.

The 55 million tokens distributed would be 15 to investors in the ICO, along with 2 rounds of 20 million to angel investors.

CZ still claimed, however, that it had raised $15 million and thus the initial price would have been $0.15.

Of 306 ICOs analyzed from 2016 to 2018, 45% kept the unsold tokens while the rest redistributed or burned them.

The approximately 65 million unsold tokens (out of 120 million total to be distribuited) at the time were worth $10 million, but today they are worth $14 billion with BNB at $214.

According to information consulted on Pitchbook, Binance Labs (Binance's venture capital) has reportedly purchased 199 companies since 2017, and BNB was reportedly part of these deals.

There are 154 million BNB tokens in circulation now, and in the past 6 years Binance has burned through an additional 48 million tokens.

According to Gray Wolf Analytics, Binance controls 76% of the supply or 117 million tokens.

BNB's deployer wallet (0x00C5E04176d95A286fccE0E68c683Ca0bfec8454) controlled by Binance, received the entire supply and distributed only 55 million tokens over the course of a year instead of 120 million from whitepapers (100 ICOs and 20 angel investors).

Those then in total who participated in the Binance token launch, would be just 2000 wallets, or 2000 individuals (there Forbes states that it was particularly difficult to understand the real amount).

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