Changpeng "CZ" Zhao, former CEO of Binance, has publicly dismissed allegations that the cryptocurrency exchange was a primary catalyst in the historic market-wide liquidation event of October 10th. This event wiped billions from the crypto market.
CZ Rejects "Far-Fetched" Claims
During a Q&A session, Zhao strongly refuted claims suggesting Binance was significantly responsible for the record wave of forced liquidations that eradicated an estimated $19 billion in crypto positions across the market on October 10th. Describing such accusations as "far-fetched," Zhao emphasized his current role as a Binance shareholder and user, rather than an official representative. He firmly rejected claims of Binance's significant contribution to the widespread market downturn.
The USDe De-Pegging and Binance's Resolution
While CZ broadly denied direct causation for the wider market crash, Binance did experience a critical localized incident during the October market turmoil. The stablecoin USDe by Ethena briefly de-pegged from its $1 parity, dropping to approximately $0.65 on the Binance platform. Ethena Labs founder, Guy Young, later clarified that this price dislocation was isolated to a single trading venue. He attributed it to an internal oracle issue specific to the platform's order book. This was exacerbated by deposit/withdrawal problems that prevented timely arbitrage. Binance subsequently compensated affected users with approximately $283 million, acknowledging the localized technical issue.
