Binance founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao surfaced on Binance Square Friday to dismantle accusations linking his former exchange to the recent crypto rout, labeling the criticism a “coordinated attack.” As Bitcoin plummeted 6% to $81,000, triggering $1.68 billion in liquidations, CZ argued the volatility stems from Washington’s trade wars, not Binance’s trading desk.
The “Net Hoarder” Defense
Speaking in a personal capacity during the AMA, CZ addressed rumors that Binance front-runs users or manipulates spot prices. He flatly rejected the claims, describing himself and the entity as “net hoarders” with no incentive to crash the asset class they hold in reserve.
The market turmoil was triggered by tariff announcements… not by any system failures.
The timing is critical. Bitcoin struggled to hold $81,000 Friday after the Trump administration renewed tariff threats against European trade partners, sending risk assets into a tailspin. Institutional capital fled, with spot ETFs recording $818 million in daily outflows.
The Shadow of “10/10”
While CZ pointed to macro headwinds, industry rivals focused on structural failures. The controversy revisits the October 10, 2025 crash, dubbed the “10/10 Incident”, which wiped out $19 billion in open interest. Critics, including ARK Invest’s Cathie Wood, have previously attributed that liquidity shock to a Binance software glitch.
OKX CEO Star Xu reignited the feud this week. In a thinly veiled post on X, Xu claimed the industry “underestimated the impact” of the October failure, suggesting it inflicted “real and lasting damage” on user trust. Xu accused unnamed competitors of prioritizing “Ponzi-like schemes” over infrastructure resilience.
Institutional Fallout
The back-and-forth highlights a fracturing consensus among exchanges. While CZ frames the downturn as a macro inevitability, competitors view it as a failure of market structure. The data supports the fear: Long positions accounted for 93% of Friday’s forced closures, signaling a market caught offside by political volatility rather than technical outages.
