- Binance’s Chief Strategy Officer accuses Samuel Bankman-Fried of spreading false or racist rumors about Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao.
- SBF allegedly engaged in this behavior to support his own scam, which required shading Zhao as an “evil Chinese”.
- SBF and Zhao have had a public rivalry for some time, with Binance once offering to rescue SBF’s crypto exchange FTX in a $1 billion buyout, but later backing out of the deal.
Sam Bankman-Fried and His Rivalry with Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao
The rivals: Image property of Decrypt
Sam Bankman-Fried, founder of crypto exchange FTX and a rising star in the world of crypto, has long had a rivalry with Changpeng Zhao (CZ), CEO of Binance, one of the largest crypto exchanges in the world. The tension between the two became public in November 2022 when FTX filed for bankruptcy. Binance had initially offered to rescue FTX in a $1 billion buyout, but backed out of the deal a day later after completing due diligence. “The issues are beyond our control or ability to help,” Binance said at the time.
Patrick Hillman, Binance’s chief strategy officer, has now claimed that Sam Bankman-Fried spread false or racist rumors about Changpeng Zhao before the collapse of FTX. Hillman tweeted that Bankman-Fried was “constantly spreading fake rumors” about Zhao because “shading him as an ‘evil Chinese’ was critical to his scam”. According to a recent article in Puck magazine, Samuel Bankman-Fried, the founder of bankrupt crypto exchange FTX, had been bad-mouthing Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, the founder of rival crypto exchange Binance, during his joint trips with Anthony Scaramucci to the Middle East seeking investments in Dubai. Scaramucci invested $10 million of FTX’s native token, FTT, which became almost worthless after FTX’s collapse in November. SBF’s behavior worried Scaramucci, who had been informed by a Skybridge colleague that SBF was “lighting CZ up” during their meetings, and he reported the behavior back to him. CZ had also previously suggested publicly that he might consider selling his $500 million investment in FTT tokens due to SBF’s denigration of him.
The rivalry between Bankman-Fried and Zhao began even before FTX’s collapse. In November, CZ accused Bankman-Fried of trying to “depeg” Tether, a stablecoin that is tied to the US dollar. Although FTX’s sister hedge fund, Alameda Research, had sold $250,000 of Tether, the sum was too small to devalue USDT below its $1 peg. However, the trade might have been enough to sow fear in the market if trading was thin.
The public rivalry between Bankman-Fried and Zhao highlights the intense competition that exists within the crypto industry. Binance and FTX are two of the biggest players in the industry, and both have been actively expanding their offerings to stay ahead of the competition. Binance, for example, has been working on a decentralized exchange, Binance DEX, and has been investing heavily in blockchain-based projects. FTX, meanwhile, has been focusing on developing new products, such as its tokenized stocks, and has been expanding its presence in the US market.
While Bankman-Fried’s reputation may have been tarnished by the collapse of FTX, he remains a prominent figure in the crypto industry. He is the CEO of Alameda Research, which manages more than $2 billion in assets, and has been involved in a number of high-profile deals, including a partnership with the Miami Heat NBA team. In addition, he has been an outspoken advocate for the use of crypto as a means of financial inclusion.
The rivalry between Sam Bankman-Fried and Changpeng Zhao highlights the intense competition that exists within the crypto industry. Both Binance and FTX are vying for dominance in the industry, and their respective founders have been engaged in a public feud. While Bankman-Fried’s reputation may have been damaged by the collapse of FTX, he remains a prominent figure in the crypto world and is likely to continue to be a major player in the industry for years to come.
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