Binance Co-Founder Blasts Crypto Smear Campaigns

Binance (@binance) co-founder and co-CEO @heyibinance has publicly accused the exchange's competitors of running coordinated negative narratives against the platform over a number of years, pointing to allegations tied to marketing practices and anti-money-laundering issues as focal points of those attacks.

Speaking out on social media, Yi He argued that rivals deliberately amplified controversies to gain market share at Binance's expense. She noted that the pattern of selective storytelling originated in the Chinese crypto circle before spreading to global markets. "Fortunately, not all users are so easily fooled by them," she said.

A Familiar Pattern at Binance

The remarks are consistent with a broader narrative that has taken shape around the exchange in recent months. Yi He has previously addressed a coordinated AI-driven FUD campaign targeting the exchange, emphasizing Binance's central role in the crypto ecosystem and warning that persistent negative narratives discourage newcomers from entering the industry. Binance founder Changpeng Zhao also raised similar concerns in his memoir, claiming U.S. crypto exchanges spent millions trying to block his pardon and alleging that "smear articles" were funded by rivals fearing Binance's potential re-entry into the American market.

Yi He has served as Binance's co-CEO alongside Richard Teng since December 2025, adding institutional weight to her public statements on behalf of the exchange. She has also previously shut down speculation that the exchange was up for sale, calling such rumors a public relations stunt orchestrated by competitors, while clarifying that Binance is open to strategic partnerships but is not selling the platform.

Expansion into Tokenized Stocks and RWAs

The pushback from Yi He comes as Binance is pushing deeper into new product territory. On June 1, 2026, Binance launched trading in over 7,000 U.S. stocks and ETFs for eligible non-U.S. users, allowing investors to gain exposure to U.S. equities, settle transactions using supported digital assets, and trade on a 24/5 schedule. The exchange is also previewing a tokenized securities layer, branded bStocks, to capture a share of the expanding real-world asset (RWA) market.

The timing aligns with a broader surge in RWA activity. According to Binance Research's Monthly Market Insights, active tokenized real-world assets rose 589% from early 2025 to June 2026, with tokenized stocks increasing 422% and bonds and money market funds growing 83% over the same period. Binance Research has designated 2026 as the "maturation year" for RWA tokenization, characterizing the shift as a transition from treasury-dominated products toward a broader yield ecosystem.

Sources:

The Block: Binance's Changpeng Zhao claims U.S. crypto rivals paid millions to block his pardon
Crypto.news: Binance spotlights tokenized stocks as RWA market surges nearly 600%
NFT Plazas: Binance launches trading for 7,000 U.S. stocks and ETFs, plans tokenized bStocks rollout