Intense Pressure After FTX Debacle

Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) has a magic number to deal with public criticisms leveled in 2023 at the world’s largest crypto exchange: “4.”

The number four represents one of CZ’s New Year’s resolutions he tweeted on Jan. 2, specifically: “4. Ignore FUD, fake news, attacks etc.”

That resolution has been tested as the public spotlight has intensified on Binance following the spectacular collapse of Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX/Alameda Empire and the sudden downfall of an erstwhile media darling that largely went unpredicted in the mainstream press.

CZ seems to be sticking to his resolution, for now, amid reports that Binance is losing more value than it said it had and that the exchange hadn’t kept up with rebalancing for its wrapped Binance-Peg BUSD token in the past.

In response to the BUSD article, Binance itself issued a response, saying that “the timing mismatch” issue had been identified and resolved last year.

Meanwhile, the separate issuer of the actual BUSD coin on ERC-20, Paxos, published a Twitter thread emphasizing that its coin is highly regulated and always backed 1:1 and that it does not issue the wrapped versions, such as Binance-Peg BUSD, which in turn is backed by Paxos’ ERC-20 BUSD.

Then again, it appears CZ may have fudged a bit on his anti-FUD commitment, quoting a Tweet from a Binance supporter dismissing the report on Binance’s loss in value, adding “Think they may need an app to check the crypto market. 📷📷”

At a Davos event in Switzerland, CZ struck a far more positive tone. According to reports, he told an audience that Binance grew its employee headcount from 3,000 to 8,000 in 2022 and wants to expand a further 15%-30% in 2023.

What is Binance:

Binance positions itself as the world’s leading blockchain ecosystem and crypto-asset infrastructure provider with a financial product suite that includes the largest digital asset exchange by volume. The Binance platform aims to increase the freedom of money for users and features a comprehensive portfolio of crypto-asset products and offerings, including trading and finance, education, data and research, social good, investment and incubation, decentralization, and infrastructure solutions.

Where to find Binance:

Website | Twitter | Discord | Telegram |