CZ Alleges FTX Gave Away $43M To News Outlets To Spread Binance FUD

Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, more popularly known as CZ in the cryptosphere, alleged the collapsed crypto empire FTX paid news outlets $43 million to publish negative articles about Binance.

The CEO's allegations against FTX came up during a recent Twitter Spaces event. CZ also said those with short positions usually want to "generate negative news" to benefit their trades.

"I don't think it's going to stop, but I don't think it's going to bother us that much going forward," the Binance CEO said while praising the ability of those who "come to their own judgments," calling them "smart" and the kind of people that "are no longer fooled by clickbait titles."

This is not the first time CZ has accused FTX or its leadership of spreading FUD (fear, uncertainty, doubt) against Binance.

The issue between CZ and Sam Bankman-Fried dates back to November when the Binance CEO announced his exchange would slash all FTT tokens, the native currency of FTX.

Later in December, almost a month after FTX and its affiliates filed for bankruptcy, CZ called Bankman-Fried a "fraudster" and revealed the reason why Binance exited its position in the crypto exchange in July 2021 after it became "increasingly uncomfortable with Alameda/SBF." He disclosed that Bankman-Fried was "unhinged" with Binance's decision.

SBF retaliated by accusing CZ of lying about his role in the deal, saying, "You didn't even have the rights to pull out as an investor unless we chose to buy you out--much of the tokens/equity were still locked."

Earlier this month, Bankman-Fried, in a new Substack newsletter, pinned the blame on CZ for the "quick, targeted crash" that caused the meltdown of his crypto empire.

"An extreme, quick, targeted crash precipitated by the CEO of Binance made Alameda insolvent," SBF said, noting that the contagion from Alameda Research spread to FTX "and other places."

SBF also alleged that CZ ran an "extremely effective months-long PR campaign against FTX" in the days leading to the centralized crypto exchange's (CEX) bankruptcy and said he "didn't steal funds" and "certainly didn't stash billions away.

The massive FUD spreading against Binance impacted the exchange last month, which triggered billions worth of customer withdrawals.

Binance and FTX were two of the most popular and trusted CEX platforms in the world. With FTX now out of the equation, Binance maintains its seat as the world's largest CEX in terms of trading volume.