CZ, co-founder of Binance, denies blame for crypto crash in October.

Changpeng "CZ" Zhao, co-founder and former CEO of Binance, rejected the accusations that the cryptocurrency exchange was responsible for the market crash of digital assets in October 2025.

During a live Q&A session on Binance's social platform on Friday, Zhao called the accusations "absurd" that the world's largest digital asset platform caused the market crash.

Zhao addressed the allegations that Binance triggered record liquidations when users experienced technical issues and price discrepancies on the platform. Following the crash, Binance offered approximately $600 million in compensation to affected clients and businesses.

"There is a larger group that claims that the crash on October 10 was caused by Binance and wants Binance to compensate everything," Zhao said. "If you live in that world inside your head, it is unlikely that you will succeed in the future."

He emphasized that Binance operates as a regulated company in Abu Dhabi, where regulators have access to the company's activities. Zhao also pointed out that the U.S. government maintains oversight of the platform.

Zhao clarified that he was speaking as a shareholder and user of Binance, not as an executive. He resigned as CEO in November 2023 as part of a deal with U.S. authorities after pleading guilty to failing to maintain an effective anti-money laundering program. The agreement required Binance Holdings to retain an independent external monitor to oversee its compliance practices. Zhao received a pardon from President Donald Trump in October 2025.