The crypto market is rife with oddities. The lack of regulation has allowed meme coins, bizarre experiments, and more to flourish. As a result, nothing is too surprising to cryptocurrency investors these days.
However, a shocking story made it around WeChat that claimed Binance CEO Changpang Zhao was shot by the FBI. Here is everything you need to know about the fake news report that could happen only in crypto.
Don’t Worry, The Binance CEO Is SAFU
Pessimistic economist Nouriel “Dr. Doom” Roubini has called Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao a ticking time bomb, but no one would have expected “CZ” to literally come into the crosshairs of the FBI.
That’s what a fake news story said that was able to spread rapidly around WeChat. The rumor suggested that Zhao was shot by the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The Binance CEO posted screenshots of the Chinese New York Times Twitter account that were allegedly photoshopped to include the fake news story. WeChat users had a field day with the misinformation, which made it back to Zhao himself.
Zhao tweeted to clear the air and prove he wasn’t shot by the FBI. He further added that the Binance team works closely with the US agency, and that this story is most certainly false.
Binance Coin hasn't traded as favorably recently | BNBUSD on TradingView.com
Only In Crypto: Why People Thought The FBI Shot CZ
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission has put pressure on Binance and its partners over its BUSD stablecoin. More recently, the SEC and New York Department of Financial Services filed oppositions against the company’s US branch from acquiring bankrupt crypto lender Voyager.
As such, three-letter US agencies haven’t been on Binance’s best side in recent days, but that doesn’t mean the FBI would open fire on an unprovoked crypto CEO. However, cryptocurrency exchange CEOs are all the rage in the public eye since FTX frontman Sam Bankman-Fried went from being pitched as the next Warren Buffett to being locked behind bars.
Because the dominos seem to be falling still in crypto and Binance has been called a “ticking time bomb” in the media, all eyes are on Changpeng Zhao to be the next big CEO to slip up. Slip up, maybe. But shot by the FBI? Only in crypto.