Changpeng ¡°CZ¡± Zhao, the former CEO of Binance, said lingering accusations that the world¡¯s largest digital asset platform bears responsibility for the crypto market crash last October are ¡°far-fetched.¡±
In a live ask-me-anything session on Binance¡¯s social platform on Friday, Zhao denied Binance was a key driver of the record spree of liquidations that occurred as users encountered technical glitches and price discrepancies on the platform. The company offered customers and businesses around $600 million in compensation following the crash.
A record $19 billion in leveraged crypto positions were erased on Oct. 10, the biggest single-day liquidation event in the sector¡¯s roughly 16-year history.
Industry participants, including DRW Holdings¡¯s Don Wilson criticized the practices of certain crypto exchanges during the meltdown for not being neutral venues for trading.
Zhao said there is still a group of people who claim the crash was caused by Binance and wants it ¡°to compensate everything.¡± Binance users who lost money from the October market crash due to the platform¡¯s system problems have been compensated, he added.
Zhao said he was speaking in his capacity as a shareholder and user of Binance. The platform¡¯s co-founder relinquished his role as CEO in November 2023 as part of a U.S. enforcement resolution after pleading guilty to failing to maintain an effective anti-money laundering program.
As part of the settlement, the platform¡¯s parent company, Binance Holdings, agreed to retain an independent external compliance monitor. Zhao was pardoned by U.S. President Donald Trump in October.
Allegations over Binance¡¯s role regarding the market crash continued after Zhao¡¯s Friday session, with Star Xu, CEO of rival crypto exchange OKX, saying in an X post that ¡°as the largest global platform, Binance has outsized influence ¡ª and corresponding responsibility ¡ª as an industry leader.¡±
¡°Long-term trust in crypto cannot be built on short-term yield games, excessive leverage, or marketing practices that obscure risk,¡± Xu said.
In response to a request for comment on Xu¡¯s remarks, a Binance spokesperson referred to the firm¡¯s October blog post where it said that roughly 75% of the liquidations had taken place before the ¡°three-token depeg,¡± a steep drop in value compared to the U.S. dollar for three key cryptocurrencies, that took place on the platform.
Zhao said on Friday that Binance is a regulated company in Abu Dubai, where authorities have access to the firm¡¯s activities, and the U.S. government is still monitoring the platform.
It was reported in September 2025 that Binance is close to a potential deal with the U.S. Justice Department that would allow it to drop the monitoring requirement.
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