Binance CEO Brushes Off 'Negative News' Amid Executive Departures

Following a spate of executive departures from Binance, the crypto exchange’s CEO Changpeng ‘CZ’ Zhao took to Twitter to dismiss “negative news” and rumors surrounding the company.

In a post on the social media platform, now renamed X, Zhao dismissed reports of “bank runs, lawsuits, closing of fiat channels, product wind downs, employee turnover, exit markets, etc.,” as “FUD” (Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt).

Binance has seen a number of top executives depart the company in recent months, with execs including general counsel Hon Ng, chief strategy officer Patrick Hillmann and SVP for compliance Steven Christie stepping down in July.

At the time, CZ dismissed reporting around the departures, arguing that “the reasons dreamed up by the “news” are completely wrong.” 

Further departures followed, with Binance execs including regional head Gleb Kostarev, Russia general manager Vladimir Smerkis, Executive Vice-President and Head of Global Fiat Helen Hai, product lead Mayur Kamat and Asia-Pacific chief Leon Foong all stepping down since the end of August. 

The exchange has also slashed its employee headcount, with CZ once again taking to Twitter to state that “the numbers reported by media are all way off.”

In his most recent post, CZ argued that the exchange’s founders have stayed the course, with probably “the lowest founding team turnover of any tech startup of our size and age, in the world.”

The Binance CEO also stated that the exchange has “no liquidity issues," adding that, "All withdrawals (and deposits) are properly managed. All customer funds are #SAFU, and 100% reserved."

He also alluded to the phasing out of Binance’s BUSD stablecoin, referring to the “smooth sunsetting of old products.”

On August 31, Binance announced that it was winding down support for BUSD, and delisting spot and margin trading pairs for the stablecoin. Visitors to the exchange are now greeted with a pop-up notification stating that it will stop supporting BUSD in 2024. 

The sunsetting of BUSD support comes on the heels of reports that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission alleged the stablecoin was an unregistered security in a Wells notice that it issued to the stablecoin’s issuer Paxos.

In his post, “CZ” highlighted further positives including the “launching of new products, new hires, new markets,” court victories and “bank run handled and then record deposits, new fiat channels.”

Binance currently faces a number of investigations from regulators around the world. In March, the U.S. CFTC accused the exchange of breaking U.S derivatives rules; in June, the SEC filed a lawsuit accusing the exchange of breaking U.S. securities laws. That same month, French authorities were reported to be investigating Binance for crimes including "aggravated money laundering."