Binance Denies Participation in Terra’s Second Investment Round; Says It Invested $3 Million in 2018

On Sunday, Binance founder and executive Changpeng Zhao responded to a journalist’s tweet that insinuated that the exchange had invested in Terra’s LUNA back in 2019 and 2021.

In a now deleted tweet by The Block’s Larry Cermak, the journalist stated:

“Easy to see why CZ is tweeting so passionately about LUNA. Binance led Terra’s seed round in 2019 and Terra’s 2021 round. In the last one that ended just like six months ago, they invested $300M with a 4y vest and 1y cliff (same amount as Jump).”

However, Zhao replied, claiming that The Block’s VP of Research got his facts wrong, and that Binance only invested $3 million into Terra’s Layer-0 blockchain back in 2018:

“Binance did not participate in the 2nd round of Luna’s fundraising nor did we acquire any UST. Binance Labs invested $3m USD in Terra (the layer 0 blockchain) in 2018. UST came much later after our initial investment,” he tweeted.

Zhao has been one of the most vocal critics of the Terra team since the crash of its tokens this weekend. Cermak implied that these criticisms were because Binance invested in LUNA, and Zhao was financially affected by the project’s failure.

Zhao also clarified that even if Binance did invest in Terra at the misstated timeline Cermak referenced, it wouldn’t be an issue, even if it failed. Binance’s chief executive has previously shared that the exchange has invested in several projects, including rival blockchains.

Over the last few days, Zhao says that Binance has attempted to support Terra, pointing out that his criticisms were simply from the standpoint of someone who wants to see real value in the industry, calling for more transparency.

“I would like to see more transparency from them. Much more! Including specific on-chain transactions (txids) of all the funds. Relying on 3rd party analysis is not sufficient or accurate. This is the first thing that should have happened,” his tweet read.

Speaking to Terra founder Do Kwon’s newly introduced proposal to revive the ecosystem, Zhao isn’t entirely sure it will work. Luna and Terra have since been halted on many exchanges, including Binance.

What do you think about this subject? Write to us and tell us!