Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao sues Bloomberg—hypocrisy much?

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

News broke early this week that Changpeng Zhao, the CEO of Binance, is suing Bloomberg subsidiary Modern Media Company for defamation.

The news was first reported by The Hong Kong Economic Times and soon spread throughout the digital currency industry. Zhao has not formally commented on the lawsuit, but he did acknowledge it by retweeting a popular Twitter account that spoke about it.

Why is Zhao suing Modern Media Company? What did they say?

Zhao’s defamation lawsuit is a response to Modern Media Company’s publishing of the 250th issue of Bloomberg Businessweek, which led with the title “Changpeng Zhao’s Ponzi Scheme.” The editors quickly changed the title after publication, but it wasn’t enough to satisfy CZ.

The lawsuit alleges that the publication damaged Zhao’s image and caused him hurt and embarrassment. It demands a withdrawal of the comments, a formal apology, and financial compensation.

This is the second lawsuit Zhao has filed against a major media outlet. In 2020, Binance sued Forbes after it published an article accusing the firm of evading regulators and funneling money.

Opinion: Changpeng Zhao is a hypocrite

Zhao has every right to sue Modern Media Company for publishing defamatory material that damages his public image. However, he won’t be able to sue this writer for calling him what he is, a shameless hypocrite who clearly lives by the mantra ‘one rule for me and another for thee.’

Why is Zhao a hypocrite? Because in 2019, he personally took to Twitter to threaten Dr. Craig Wright that if he didn’t drop legal action against his detractors, Binance would delist BSV. Shortly thereafter, the firm delisted BSV, with Zhao labeling Dr. Wright’s cease and desist letters as “attacks” on his detractors while joining in the smear campaign by calling him a fraud.

Craig Wright is not Satoshi.

Anymore of this sh!t, we delist! https://t.co/hrnt3fDACq

— CZ 🔶 BNB (@cz_binance) April 12, 2019

It seems in CZ’s world, it’s fine for him to sue for defamation and to use the legal system to make things right, but should Bitcoin’s inventor do the same, it warrants a BSV delisting.

Perhaps there’s more to Binance’s delisting of BSV than meets the eye? Maybe the decision to delist wasn’t really about Wright’s “attacks” on Hodlonaut and others after all. Could it be that Zhao understands Bitcoin’s true capabilities and that it renders his altcoin exchange obsolete? We’ll find out in time, but for now, the stench of Zhao’s hypocrisy is nauseating.

Follow CoinGeek’s Crypto Crime Cartel series, which delves into the stream of groups from BitMEX to Binance, Bitcoin.com, Blockstream, ShapeShift, Coinbase, Ripple, 
Ethereum, FTX and Tether—who have co-opted the digital asset revolution and turned the industry into a minefield for naïve (and even experienced) players in the market.