Binance CEO Changpeng ‘CZ’ Zhao said the latest FUD — fear, uncertainty, and doubt — about him was likely planted and sponsored by a rival exchange.
In an April 4 tweet, CZ pointed out that the rumors were “only spread by crypto news outlets and key opinion leaders.” He described the actions as “very petty,” adding that it “hurts the [crypto] industry and hurts themselves.”
On April 3, rumors emerged that Interpol had issued a red alert notice for CZ. CryptoSlate reported that it did not find any mention of Zhao among the publicly listed red notices on the Interpol site.
A Binance spokesperson further told CryptoSlate that the rumors were not true. CZ also vehemently denied these rumors on Twitter, saying it was started with a photoshopped image.
According to CZ, crypto stakeholders should be united in facing the external forces attacking the industry instead of the recent FUD targeted at him and Binance.
The “external forces” alludes to the recent regulatory onslaught the crypto industry has faced from the U.S. Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
CZ previously accused bankrupt crypto exchange FTX of funding FUD against Binance.
FUD leads to outflow on Binance
The FUD against CZ led to a brief spike in withdrawals on Binance, according to DeFillama data. The exchange processed $266.33 million in withdrawals following the news.
These withdrawals pale significantly compared to those recorded in November 2022 — when FTX collapsed. At the time, Binance processed over $6 billion in withdrawals over seven days.
Meanwhile, blockchain analytical firm Nansen shows that Binance holds $64.4 billion worth of cryptocurrencies.
The FUD also briefly affected Binance BNB price — which traded for as low as $302.1 on April 3.
However, the asset has recovered from the market decline and was trading for $310.7 at the time of writing, according to CryptoSlate data.
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