Binance co-founder Changpeng “CZ” Chao took to social media on Monday to refute a series of allegations he called “pretty imaginative FUD” aimed at him and his former exchange as the main culprits for grisly cryptocurrency price fluctuations.
FUD (short for “Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt”) is a term widely used in cryptocurrencies to describe the spread of false, misleading, or exaggerated information that causes panic in the market. It has also been used to dismiss criticism that might affect a company, even if it is legitimate.
In a post on X on Monday, CZ addressed several narratives, including speculation that Binance was dumping Bitcoin and causing it to fall below $75,000 this weekend, concerns that Binance would not transfer funds to its Safe Assets Fund for Users (SAFU) as stated last week, and a widely circulated jab that Binance had single-handedly “aborted the supercycle.”
“If I had that kind of power, I wouldn’t be on Crypto Twitter with you guys,” CZ joked, responding to the cynicism that blames him for the so-called crypto supercycle, a long-anticipated rise in digital asset prices driven by adoption and macro trends. The confusion appears to stem from a comment he made earlier in which he said he had “less confidence” in the supercycle theory.
“That’s all I said,” he wrote. “Do you think I even had the strength to snap my fingers back then? I could have snapped them all day long.”
He also denied reports that Binance itself sold $1 billion in BTC to cause the weekend crash, saying the funds belonged to users trading on the platform. “Binance wallet balances only change when users make withdrawals,” he said. “Most users maintain their balances on Binance and use Binance as their wallet.”
He also defended the slow rollout of Binance’s plan announced last week to convert its SAFU Fund from stablecoins to Bitcoin, saying that Binance plans to make BTC purchases in 30-day periods, likely at intervals. “They won’t be buying using a decentralized exchange (DEX),” he said. “Binance is the CEX with the highest liquidity in the world.”
His post comes at a time when parts of the crypto community continue to criticize Binance over the October 10 flash crash. The sudden drop wiped out around $19 billion in leveraged positions and left a lasting impact on cryptocurrency market liquidity. Star Xu, the founder of rival exchange OKX, publicly criticized Binance for the incident.
Zhao remains a central figure in the crypto world, stepping down as CEO of Binance in 2023 after Binance reached a $4.3 billion settlement with US authorities and was sentenced to four months in prison.
