Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao Files Defamation Case Against Bloomberg Subsidiary

Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao has filed a lawsuit against a Bloomberg subsidiary for defamation. The lawsuit alleges that a published article made multiple unsubstantiated defamatory remarks.

Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao has filed a lawsuit against a Bloomberg subsidiary for defamation, as shown in a court filing on July 25. The lawsuit has been filed in the High Court of Hong Kong, while a Memorandum of Law has been filed in the District Court of the Southern District of New York in relation to the case. The subsidiary is Bloomberg Businessweek’s Hong Kong publisher Modern Media CL.

The filing states that the related article that was published had “several serious and defamatory allegations made against Binance and Zhao that were completely unsubstantiated.” It claims that the article was designed to mislead readers into thinking that the CEO and exchange were partaking in illegal or unsavory activities.

The article was titled “Can Crypto’s Richest Man Stand the Cold?” but the translation into Chinese featured a different headline that led to the filing of the lawsuit. The translation alleged that Zhao was running a Ponzi scheme. The English version of the article also contains sentences that Zhao has grievances with.

It points to several specific remarks made in the article, alleging that it was implying that Binance was involved in money laundering, fraud, and hacking. The article also features a quote from a Binance user that called Binance a “massive shitcoin casino” without providing identification or verification of the trader.

Changpeng Zhao has filed defamation lawsuits against media publications before. He sued venture capital firm Sequoia for defamation in 2019 and Forbes in 2020, though he dropped the latter.

Binance facing regulatory hurdles but seeks to work with authorities

Binance takes legal matters very seriously, and even though it has faced regulatory issues, it has been putting effort into working with regulators. The exchange has ceased support for Litecoin’s privacy enabling MimbleWimble-based transactions, as privacy coins are a concern for regulators.

Several regulatory developments have taken place regarding Binance’s operations, with the Dutch Central Bank fining the exchange $3.3 million for operating without a license. However, not all of the news has been negative.

Binance has been granted a license to operate in Spain, which adds to the growing list of jurisdictions it serves. It also signed an agreement with Cambodia’s regulator to help with regulations.

Continuing to grow

Binance has made its intention to become a global crypto exchange clear. For the most part, it is already succeeding on that front, even as it faces competition from the likes of Coinbase.

It is now the exchange that holds the most crypto in the world, overtaking Coinbase. Zhao has said that Binance has a very healthy war chest and that it was expanding hiring at this time, even if the crypto market has taken a downturn.