Binance Co-Founder & CEO, Changpeng Zhao, has responded to several interviews discussing the cryptocurrency’s prospects after a tumultuous few weeks in the market.
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The CEO of the largest online cryptocurrency exchange, Binance, criticized the former CEO of the bankrupt exchange FTX and took aim at economist Nouriel Roubini.
Appearing at the Milken Institute’s Middle East and Africa Summit on Thursday, Changpeng Zhao, known as “CZ,” was asked to respond to a tweet by Sam Bankman-Fried in which he referred to a “workout partner”, largely believed to be CZ, the boss of rival exchange Binance.
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“When he tweeted about a scrim partner… he was losing focus. I didn’t know this problem existed in FTX before, otherwise we would have sold those FTT tokens a long time ago,” he told CNBC’s Dan Murphy.
“That day when he tweeted that, he should have been doing something else. He shouldn’t have tweeted.”
CNBC has reached out to FTX and Bankman-Fried for a response to the comments but has not yet received a response.
Economist Nouriel Roubini also made it in the interview after he described Changpeng Zhao as one of the “seven Cs of cryptocurrencies” – a not-so-great list that includes “hidden, corrupt people”. , crooks, criminals, scammers, carnival barkers.”
Roubini described the cryptocurrency and some of its key players as a “completely broken ecosystem” at Wednesday’s Abu Dhabi Financial Week event.
Zhao’s response to the criticism was simple: “We don’t care,” he told CNBC on Thursday.
“Negative energy can’t get very far in life and those people will generally stay poor,” he said, alluding to Roubini being “very impolite” and someone who “doesn’t know the local customs.”
The CEO had a busy week of talks and on Wednesday talked about cryptocurrencies “will be fine” after he announced his plans to set up a recovery fund for those struggling in the industry.
“We want the strong players in the industry today to protect the good players in the industry who may only be vulnerable in the short term,” said Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, also speaking from Abu Dhaka.
Cryptocurrency in the spotlight this week after rival exchange Binance FTX Friday bankruptcy declaration and the price of bitcoin fell below $17,000 for the first time since 2020.
The events also raised concerns about the so-called “cryptocurrency contagion.” could lead to the downfall of other big names in the industry, such as Crypto.com. Company CEO refuse requests and said the platform is “business as usual.”
“In the short term, there are a lot of difficulties, but in the long run, it is accelerating the efforts we are making to make the industry healthier,” Zhao said on Wednesday.
