$3B Wiped from Net Worth: CZ & Cardano Founder Slammed by Market Crash

Bitcoin continued to struggle as of writing, trading over 50% below its October 6th peak after another volatile week. The broader crypto market fell about 8.7% in the last day, with major assets posting double-digit losses. Cardano’s ADA dropped more than 11% to $0.25, while Binance Coin slid over 10% to near $623. Red days dominated screens across exchanges. How are industry leaders reacting when billions vanish on paper? Hoskinson Discloses $3 Billion Paper Loss Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson addressed the downturn during a public livestream from Tokyo on Thursday. He revealed that his personal crypto holdings had lost over $3 billion in unrealized value. Hoskinson stressed that the figure reflected paper losses rather than realized exits. He made clear that he had no intention of selling. “It’d have been real easy to cash out,” Hoskinson said, responding to critics who claim wealth cushions market pain. He framed his losses as larger than most market participants would ever experience. His message targeted developers and investors navigating a prolonged drawdown, urging them to stay engaged despite worsening conditions. ADA Underperforms as Drawdown Deepens Cardano’s native token lagged the broader market during the sell-off. ADA’s decline to $0.25 marked a 92% fall from its September 2nd, 2021, all-time high of $3.10. Hoskinson acknowledged the harsh reality of current pricing while pointing to ongoing development. He highlighted progress on Hydra scaling, the Leios consensus upgrade, and the Midnight privacy-focused sidechain. In his view, utility and infrastructure will shape the industry’s next phase. Hoskinson revisited comments he made earlier this year during an interview with Scott Melker. At the time, he disclosed roughly $2.5 billion in paper losses over four years. He blamed regulatory pressure and political interference for pushing retail investors away. He described 2026 as a reset rather than a classic bull market, where real-world use cases matter more than hype. CZ Revives a Familiar Line as Bitcoin Slides Binance founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao took a lighter tone. As Bitcoin dipped toward $60,000, CZ posted a brief message on X: “Poor again.” He noted that he last used the phrase during Bitcoin’s 2022 drop from $67,000 to roughly $30,000. He added that the market “did alright in the end.” Was the comment humor, perspective, or both? BNB and Bitcoin Reflect the Damage Bitcoin later rebounded near $65,100 but still showed an 8.5% daily loss. The asset now trades far below its October record of above $126,000. Binance Coin mirrored the pain. BNB fell to about $623, down nearly 55% from its all-time high above $1,300. Retail sentiment around both assets turned sharply bearish as message volume surged. Estimating the Hit to CZ’s Net Worth CZ has disclosed that roughly 98% of his personal portfolio sits in BNB, with small allocations to Bitcoin and stablecoins. Analysts estimate he controls around 94 million BNB tokens, or about 64% of the circulating supply. At current prices, those holdings range between $57 billion and $75 billion before liquidity discounts. A 50% haircut often applies due to the difficulty of selling such size. Even modest percentage drops translate into multibillion-dollar swings on paper. Market Volatility Redefines Wealth Again Both founders framed the drop through experience rather than an alarm. Hoskinson spoke openly about enduring losses while building through adversity. At some point in the livestream, Bitcoin is still likely to reach $250,000 by mid of 2026. CZ also recalled past crashes that eventually reversed by his statement, “Did alright in the end.” Prices remain volatile, sentiment fragile, and paper fortunes deeply red. For crypto’s most visible figures, the numbers underline a familiar truth: market cycles spare no one, not even the industry’s richest voices.