Changpeng Zhao says WSJ was paid to smear him
Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao has once again claimed that The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) is waging a smear campaign against him in an effort to derail his company’s efforts to help make the US the “capital of crypto.”
Zhao made the claims on X in response to another user who asked, “Hey @cz_binance, are WSJ guys asking any kind of money to stop defamation for you?”
“No, but I heard they were paid to smear,” he replied, adding, “Rumor has it that a major VC who invested in a US crypto exchange is lobbying hard against ‘Binance helping US to become the capital of crypto.'”
According to Zhao, “millions” have been paid in lobbying efforts due to “fear of competition.”
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The outburst came just hours after Zhao had moved to distance himself from the WSJ’s claims that he acted as a “fixer” for Donald Trump’s World Liberty Financial (WLF).
The publication had implied that he introduced the WLF team to a number of influential figures, including government officials from Pakistan, Malaysia, and Kyrgyzstan.
However, Zhao roundly refuted these claims, saying, “I am not a fixer for anyone. I did NOT ‘connect Mr. Saqib (tech entrepreneur Bilal bin Saqib) with the WLF team.’”
He added, “They had known each other way back, whereas I only met with Mr. Saqib for the first time in Pakistan. I did NOT make any ‘introductions for World Liberty’s foreign travels.’”
Zhao also claimed in this rebuttal that “WSJ is just the mouthpiece. There are forces in the US that want to hinder efforts in making the US the capital of crypto.
“They want to attack crypto, global crypto leaders, and the pro-crypto administration.”
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