Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, commonly known as CZ, has strongly denied allegations that Binance, the leading cryptocurrency exchange, has been involved in secretive Bitcoin sales to stabilize the price of its native token, BNB, artificially. These accusations have been made by various market commentators, including analyst Dylan LeClair and Swan Bitcoin CEO Cory Klippsten, who claim that Binance intentionally manipulates the market to inflate the value of BNB.
In response to these claims, CZ took to Twitter on June 13 to clarify Binance’s position. He stated that Binance had not sold any of its Bitcoin or BNB holdings and further revealed that the exchange still possesses a significant amount of FTX Tokens (FTT), the native token of the now-defunct crypto exchange FTX. CZ dismissed the accusations by saying, “It is amazing they can know exactly who sold based on a price chart involving millions of traders. FUD.”
CZ’s tweet directly responded to a post by technical analysis platform Skew on June 14, which accused Binance of market manipulation through a series of trades involving BTC, BNB, and Tether USDT. Skew suggested that Binance was attempting to prevent the crash of BNB and BTC prices. Analyst Dylan LeClair also claimed that BNB is a “fake market” with lower trading volume than BTC.
Additionally, Cory Klippsten alleged that Binance was involved in “wash trading,” a manipulative tactic where an asset is sold and repurchased shortly after to create artificial demand or increase market activity. Klippsten accused Binance of feigning support for BNB. Another analyst, Joe Consorti from The Bitcoin Layer, described BNB’s price behavior as “unusual,” pointing out a strong defense of the $220 level and speculating that it could be a liquidation threshold for a BNB-collateralized loan.
Consorti further demanded that Binance publish an audited statement proving the absence of BNB-collateralized liabilities to end the “FUD” (fear, uncertainty, and doubt) surrounding the allegations. On June 5, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a lawsuit against Binance.US for alleged securities law violations and wash trading, specifically mentioning Binance’s undisclosed market-making trading firm, Sigma Chain, owned by CZ.
Binance and CZ have vehemently denied any wrongdoing, pledging to vigorously defend themselves against the charges brought by the SEC in the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. Despite these legal challenges and accusations, Binance remains a prominent player in the cryptocurrency industry, continuing its operations and offering a wide range of services to its users.
