Binance founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao pushed back against growing criticism on social media after a brief comment about “buy and hold” investing sparked a new debate over market losses, exchange liability and its influence on crypto markets.
The controversy dates back to a post shared by Zhao on January 25, in which he said that, based on his experience, few trading strategies outperform a simple “buy and hold” approach, adding that it was not financial advice.
The remark quickly circulated on crypto social media, with some users interpreting it as a blanket endorsement of holding any token listed on major exchanges, regardless of quality or market conditions.
CZ defends comments as critics link losses to stock market crash
As prices continued to struggle across much of the market, critics argued that the messaging ignored the reality that many tokens never recover once entering a prolonged recession.
On Sunday, Zhao responded directly to what he described as “twisted FUD” surrounding the comment.
Writing on X, he clarified that the statement was never intended to apply to every cryptocurrency ever created.
He argued that buying and holding all assets in any sector would inevitably lead to poor performance, since most projects fail while a small number generate outsized returns.
This reaction was preceded by a series of aggressive responses, such as harshly written messages accusing Zhao and Binance of market control, liquidations and ill-informed communication with the population.
Other users attributed their criticism to the October 10 stock market crash, which wiped out tens of billions of dollars in leveraged crypto positions.
Can anyone really predict a long-term crypto winner? Changpeng Zhao intervenes
Buy and hold questions have also appeared again in the token listing.
Zhao responded to a user when asked if exchanges should simply include assets that one can hold for the long term by stating that no one can credibly say which projects will succeed several years later.
He compared the crypto market to the early years of the internet, where exchanges had to offer an opportunity to credible teams and investment decisions were left up to users.
He stressed that the presence of a token on the list does not imply that anyone must purchase it and reiterated the need for personal research.
The controversy surrounding detention strategies has played out within broader sectoral tensions.
Other traders said that long-term holding, especially large-cap assets like Bitcoin and Ether, has traditionally performed better than frequent trading among disciplined investors.
Others argue that long-term declines, particularly those in altcoins, have left many portfolios in deep water and as a result, widespread advice can no longer be easily implemented.
Binance in spotlight as industry reflects on October 10-10 crash
Binance was closely linked to the crypto market crash of October 10-11, 2025, after technical outages during extreme volatility left users unable to fulfill orders, worsening massive liquidations.
System overloads, price display errors, asset decommissioning and failed risk controls contributed to losses of $283 million.
Binance acknowledged the issues, compensated affected users, fixed pricing bugs, strengthened infrastructure, and updated risk settings to avoid a repeat.
Institutional voices have also entered the debate, with market observers noting that the forced deleveraging following the October crash appears largely complete, drawing attention to long-term positioning rather than short-term volatility.
At the same time, criticism of Binance has extended beyond business philosophy to governance and market structure.
Industry leaders, including OKX CEO Star Xu, have publicly warned that short-term incentives and aggressive promotion of tokens can undermine trust and slow broader adoption.
Binance supporters argue, however, that much of the reaction reflects broader frustration with the market cycle rather than evidence of coordinated wrongdoing.
The article Binance Founder CZ Hits Back at FUD Over ‘Buy and Hold’ Tweet – Here’s What He Really Means appeared first on Cryptonews.



BNB (@cz_binance) 
More than 1.66 million cryptocurrency traders were liquidated as the market experienced a sharp downturn, wiping out $19.33 billion in positions.