- Binance CEO CZ claps back at claims Kevin O’Leary made before the U.S. Senate.
- CZ also assures that Binance has enough revenue to meet all financial obligations.
CEO of Binance Changpeng Zhao responded to claims made by Kevin O’Leary. The Shark Tank TV show host gave a testimony before the U.S. Senate in which he accused Binance of having a hand in the collapse of FTX.
In an interview with CNBC, CZ stated that the Shark Tank TV show host is “lying about a bunch of stuff.”
“I think Kevin is a liar. I think he’s lying about a bunch of stuff,” he said on CNBC’s Squawk Box segment.
He went on to explain the reason for his belief. CZ highlighted that O’Leary’s claims during the hearing contradict themselves. For one, O’Leary claims that he invested in FTX without knowing Binance was a shareholder. Meanwhile, he still went on to remember very specific details of a transaction Binance and FTX made two years ago.
CZ also remarked on O’Leary’s suggestion that FTX may be able to claw back funds from Binance. While he reaffirmed that Binance had solid revenue, he stated that Binance’s layers are capable of handling any FTX claims makes against Binance in its bankruptcy proceedings.
Meanwhile, the back and forth has not stopped at CZ’s response. O’Leary returned to CNBC to state that it is “absolutely” not the case that he lied in front of the U.S. Senate for two hours.
O’Leary added that in his opinion, Binance issued the fatal blow to get rid of its global competitor FTX. Binance’s move to sell off the last of its FTT token holdings at a time when FTX was struggling is what caused the bank run that led to the collapse. O’Leary says he is ready to back his claims in front of Congress and also expects CZ to do the same soon.
"@cz_binance called me a liar and suggested I perjured myself in front of the U.S. Senate for 2 hours this week. I can assure you that was not the case," says @kevinolearytv. "He's part of the story too." pic.twitter.com/NWLFSGtreX
— Squawk Box (@SquawkCNBC) December 16, 2022
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CZ assures that Binance’s BTC reserve and customer funds are safe.
Away from O’Leary’s comments, CZ also addressed market fears that Binance could be the next exchange to go bankrupt. The fears began after the exchange published its audited Bitcoin (BTC) proof-of-reserve.
According to CZ, Binance is “financially OK” and has “solid revenue.” He also quipped that Binance exchange customers have nothing to fear as the exchange has always maintained a 1:1 backing of user assets. This is a best practice in the cryptocurrency space as the industry does not have a central bank that can print money to bail out failing firms.
