Changpeng Zhao (CZ), Binance’s CEO, has denied a rumor that he was “shot” by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The rumor has been circulating on the Chinese media platform WeChat for some time.
Someone photoshopped this, and it got spread widely on WeChat in china. It says I got shot by the FBI, whom our team work with closely… 🤷♂️ 4. pic.twitter.com/2Iz7c1QgA8
— CZ 🔶 Binance (@cz_binance) March 3, 2023
Binance CEO refers to FUD
In his own way he refers the rumor to the trash by referring to the number ‘4’. In the beginning of the new year, CZ had his goals shared for the coming year and number 4 on that list was the intention to FUD (Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt) to ignore. The first 3 goals mentioned were to focus on education, compliance, as well as product and service.
It is not the first time that a rumor like this has been circulated about a big name in the crypto industry. In 2017, there were rumors that Vitalik Buterin, the founder of Ethereum (ETH), would have died in a car accident at the time. In response to this rumor, Buterin produced a so-called ”Proof of Life” by taking a selfie with the last block of the Ethereum blockchain in it.
Binance and the FBI
CZ also indicated in his tweet that the Binance team works very closely with the FBI. In October 2022, it was announced that Binance.US, the American branch of the crypto exchange, had hired former FBI agent BJ Kang. Kang was once dubbed “the most feared man on Wall Street” after being photographed arresting Bernie Madoff. Madoff was found guilty of running the largest Ponzi scheme in history.
Kang leads the investigative unit to combat illegal activity on the platform.
On March 1, CZ and Brian Shringer, the CEO of Binance.US, received a letter from three US Senators, Elizabeth Warren, Chris Van Hollen and Roger Marshall, demanding more information about Binance’s financials. The senators claimed that the “little information available” about Binance’s financials suggests the exchange is a “hotbed of illicit activity.”
