Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, co-founder and former CEO of Binance, has defended the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange against accusations that it played a central role in last October’s $19 billion stock market crash.
Speaking during a live Q&A session on Binance’s platform, Zhao called such claims “far-fetched” and said they ignored broader market dynamics, Bloomberg reports.
Summary
- Zhao called claims that Binance caused the $19 billion crypto crash of October 2025 “far-fetched.”
- Binance has provided around $600 million to affected users and operates under Abu Dhabi regulation and US oversight, with Zhao noting that system issues had already been resolved.
- Zhao was pardoned by Trump in 2025 and is reportedly close to a deal removing Binance’s compliance monitoring requirement.
On October 10, record liquidations wiped out approximately $19 billion in leveraged crypto positions, the largest single-day selloff in the industry’s 16-year history.
Users have reported technical issues and price discrepancies on exchanges including Binance, triggering panic selling. Binance subsequently compensated customers and businesses approximately $600 million for losses related to the platform issues.
