This year has seen a noticeable uptick in targeted social media attacks directed at Binance and its founder and former CEO, Changpeng Zhao, commonly known as CZ. Leading the charge, rival exchange OKX—along with a few other trading platforms—has intensified its focus on both Binance and CZ. When Binance was blamed for the market turmoil during the November crypto downturn, it drew considerable backlash on social media. Now, the controversy has shifted to allegations concerning CZ’s personal life and his recently published book.
Escalating rivalry between top crypto exchanges
Verbal skirmishes between leading exchanges have played out publicly on social media. During the 2022 collapse of FTX, CZ openly criticized several competitors, arguing that the public had a right to know which platforms might be unsafe, a move that fueled panic and put some exchanges at risk of bank runs. Years later, Binance and CZ now find themselves on the receiving end, frequently singled out for criticism—often in far more aggressive terms than before.
Public disputes over personal claims
In the most recent exchange, CZ took to social media to condemn what he called “falsehoods about his personal life.” He reaffirmed that he had finalized his divorce long ago and emphasized his willingness to wager up to $1 billion to prove it. Not long after, OKX’s CEO responded by stating that he would publicly apologize if CZ could produce a signed divorce protocol.
“If he cannot produce such a protocol, yet continues to declare himself divorced in the media and in his book, that constitutes lying to the public. This would be just one more example of his blatant dishonesty,” Star_okx argued in response.
CZ directly quoted this challenge, responding that an apology was now in order since his divorce was indeed legal and final. However, he refused to release court documents out of respect for his former spouse’s privacy.
“You can apologize now. I am officially divorced. I won’t publish legal documents online because I want to respect my ex-wife’s privacy and value the time we spent together. I’m ready to bet $1 billion—or any amount you choose—that my divorce was finalized long ago. If you accept this bet, our lawyers can verify the divorce agreement, which should be straightforward. This offer is open anytime, but if you don’t respond within 24 hours, it will be clear who is truly misleading the public,” CZ stated, emphasizing his position.
In response, the OKX CEO argued that since both OKX and Binance are subject to regulatory oversight, such revelations about Binance’s leadership could trigger legal complications. He shifted the focus to whether or not CZ’s Binance shares had been legally separated from his ex-wife following the divorce, drawing parallels to high-profile settlements such as those of Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos.
“When it comes to whether you have misled the public and lied globally, the real test is this: Have your Binance shares been legally separated from your ex-wife? Gates and Bezos have shown the world how proper asset division should occur in divorce cases,” the OKX chief explained.
Frustrated by the ongoing debate and OKX’s persistence, CZ replied at length, essentially saying he had wasted enough time on the matter and declined to accept the proposed wager.
Shifting dynamics among global crypto exchanges
Despite the recent turmoil, Binance continues to lead the pack as the world’s largest crypto exchange by trading volume—a position it has maintained for years. Observers often credit Binance’s early embrace of regulatory grey areas as a key factor in helping the company drive the global spread of cryptocurrencies in 2017. However, this pioneering approach has also resulted in the company paying billions of dollars in fines.
The FTX collapse, and particularly CZ’s outspoken stance during that period, played a pivotal role in reshaping market dynamics. The latest social media campaigns mounted by OKX and other exchanges against Binance and CZ may be rooted in several different motives.
- Binance could genuinely have contributed to the November meltdown as the main culprit.
- CZ might be seen as a deeply controversial figure.
- Binance or CZ could have dealt heavy blows to competitors in the struggle for market share.
- Rivals may hope to dethrone Binance and seize a larger share of the crypto pie.
Any other scenario seems unlikely, as the root causes appear to fall within these possibilities.
