Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao took to social media on Monday to refute a series of accusations that he called “very imaginative FUD” directed at himself and his former exchange as the culprits of the dismal cryptocurrency price behavior.
FUD – short for “fear, uncertainty and doubt” – is a term widely used in the cryptocurrency space to describe the spread of false, misleading or exaggerated information that sows panic in the market. It is also used to dismiss criticism, even legitimate criticism, that might affect the company.
In Monday’s post, CZ addressed some of the claims: speculation that Binance’s dumping of Bitcoin triggered this weekend’s sell-off below $75,000, concerns that the company did not move funds to the Safe Asset Fund for Users (SAFU) as stated last week, and widely circulated attacks that he single-handedly “cancelled the super cycle.”
“If I had that power, I wouldn’t be on crypto Twitter with you,” CZ joked, responding to sarcastic remarks accusing him of undermining the so-called crypto super cycle — the long-awaited spike in digital asset prices driven by adoption and macro trends. The confusion appears to stem from comments he made earlier that his confidence in the supercycle paper was “lower” than before.
“That’s what I said,” he wrote. “I wonder if I’d be able to snap my fingers then? I’d snap my fingers all day long.”
He also denied reports that Binance itself sold $1 billion in Bitcoin to trigger the weekend sell-off, saying the funds belonged to users who traded on the platform. “Binance wallet balances only change when users withdraw funds,” he said. “Most users maintain their balances through Binance and use Binance as their wallet.”
He also defended the slow progress of Binance’s plan to convert its “SAFU Fund” from stablecoins to Bitcoin announced last week, saying that Binance plans to execute BTC purchases within 30 days (possibly intermittently). “You won’t see them using decentralized exchanges (DEXs) to make purchases,” he said. “Binance is the most liquid centralized exchange in the world.”
His post comes as some in the cryptocurrency community continue to blame Binance for the October 10 flash crash. The sudden plunge wiped out approximately $19 billion in leveraged positions and had a lasting impact on cryptocurrency market liquidity. Star Xu, the founder of rival exchange OKX, publicly blamed Binance for the incident.
Zhao resigned as Binance CEO in 2023 and was sentenced to four months in prison after the exchange agreed to a $4.3 billion settlement with U.S. authorities, but he remains a central figure in the cryptocurrency space.
