Following allegations that Binance and its CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) have been liquidating Bitcoin (BTC) and BNB at an alarming rate, CZ has emphatically denied these claims in a tweet.
Twitter users @52kskew and @JW100x ignited the online debate with claims that Binance has been swapping out BTC for Tether (USDT) to build reserves, buying BNB aggressively, and then trading BNB for Binance USD (BUSD) in an attempt to dampen BTC volatility.
According to these tweets, the final step involved pumping BUSD into BTC to suppress any downside volatility, allowing for an efficient BTC to USDT swap.
The conversation caught significant traction, with both tweets alleging this cycle was being used to prevent both BNB and BTC from crashing, effectively serving as a form of market manipulation. @JW100x drew attention to the practice as a "total house of cards," highlighting the potential for market destabilization.
CZ was quick to address the issue, tweeting that Binance has not sold BTC or BNB. He also added, somewhat cryptically, that the firm still holds a bag of the FTX (FTT) token, a popular digital asset issued by the now-defunct FTX cryptocurrency exchange.
Alex DovbnyaIn the volatile and largely unregulated world of cryptocurrencies, allegations like these could potentially shake market confidence and stir up more regulatory scrutiny in the wake of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recent lawsuits against Binance and Coinbase.
It remains to be seen whether Binance will provide evidence to substantiate CZ's claims, or if these assertions will further cloud the exchange's reputation.
Arman Shirinyan
Dan Burgin
U.Today Editorial Team
Vladislav Sopov