Binance CEO CZ Sues Bloomberg Subsidiary Over Defamation Claims
- CZ and Binance have sued media firms previously.
- CZ also filed a motion for discovery at New York’s south district court against Bloomberg l.P. and Bloomberg Inc.
On Monday, Binance CEO and founder, Changpeng Zhao (CZ), took legal action against modern media cl, the Hong Kong partner to Bloomberg BusinessWeek. CZ claimed that the article depicted his crypto exchange as a Ponzi scheme.
It is worth noting that the article was the Chinese-translated version of the one published on Bloomberg. On June 23, Bloomberg published an article discussing Zhao’s profile as one of the most voices in crypto. The article’s title was “Can Crypto’s Richest Man Stand The Cold?”
However, Bloomberg’s Hong Kong partner used a different headline when publishing the Chinese version. Zhao’s legal counsel claimed that modern media cl deliberately ran the headline to display its hatred and contempt for Zhao. Hence, it used the headline “Zhao Changpeng’s Ponzi scheme” to ridicule him.
Further Notes Binance and CZ Defamation Claims
Zhao called for the removal of that edition from the newsstands. Also, he prayed to the court to prevent modern media or Bloomberg to ensure they do not allow the news to spread further. Bloomberg’s Hong Kong partner has started acceding to CZ’s demands. It has changed the Ponzi headline to “the mysterious Changpeng Zhao.”
In a separate motion, CZ also filed a motion for discovery at New York’s south district court against Bloomberg l.P. and Bloomberg Inc. Over the false accusation in the article. Zhao claimed that the Bloomberg article depicted Binance’s operations as sketchy. He said the article quoted an anonymous trader claiming that Binance is a “massive shitcoin casino.”
The suit read that Bloomberg carefully constructed the sentences in the article to misinform readers that Zhao’s Binance wasn’t complying with the law. On Friday, the Binance CEO tweeted, “be accountable for your actions,” an apparent reference to his court filing in Hong Kong. Apart from his tweet, the exchange or CZ himself has yet to issue an official statement.
The double legal actions aren’t the first time Zhao has adopted an aggressive strategy to protect Binance’s corporate image. Two years ago, Binance took similar legal steps against Forbes before dropping the legal action in February 2021. In the defamation claims, CZ said Forbes accused his exchange of laundering money and evading regulatory laws.
Later that year, the exchange invested $200 million in a failed Forbes SPAC (Special Purpose Acquisition Company) deal. Zhao also sued sequoia capital (a venture capital firm) in 2019, claiming defamation. The US Court filing indicates the level Binance would go to protect its public image.
After several discussions between the legal teams, CZ and modern media agreed to recall the edition containing the Ponzi headline. However, according to the filing, Zhao thought it wise to take legal action as there are still some websites selling copies of the recalled physical copy.
Rebecca is a Senior Staff Writer at BitcoinWisdom, working hard to bring you the latest breaking news in the cryptocurrency market. In the words of Elon Musk “Buy stock in several companies that make products & services that *you* believe in. Only sell if you think their products & services are trending worse. Don’t panic when the market does. This will serve you well in the long-term.”
