A long-simmering rivalry between two of crypto’s most prominent exchange founders has reignited — and this time the spat is focused on personal accusations, not trading platforms.
What happened
- The flare-up began after Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) published his autobiography, Freedom of Money. In response, OKX founder Star (Mingxing) Xu took to X with a string of sharp posts accusing Zhao of spreading “purely false information” and challenging his personal and professional integrity.
- Central to the new row is a story in Zhao’s book in which Huobi founder Li Lin allegedly told Zhao in 2025 that Li’s arrest stemmed from a whistleblower report “tied to” Xu. Xu denied the claim, saying he never filed any such report and arguing that complaints in the crypto sector rarely lead to arrests.
Backstory: the 2014–15 dispute
- The exchange between the founders reopened old wounds from 2014–15, when Zhao was a senior executive at OKCoin (the entity that later became OKX). That dispute centered on a commercial arrangement involving early Bitcoin investor Roger Ver and allegations that Zhao fabricated contract versions to insert a six-month termination clause.
- Xu says OKCoin accused Zhao of changing contract evidence; Zhao has consistently denied the charge and suggested material used against him could have been manipulated.
New evidence and counterclaims
- Xu claims to have new material backing his position, reposting what he described as a notarized video that he says proves contract forgery. He also asserted that evidence of falsification had already surfaced online about 12 years ago and called Zhao “a habitual liar.”
- Zhao, in turn, dismissed the accusations in a separate post and demanded an apology. He also made a striking personal wager: offering to “bet $1 billion USD (or any number you choose)” that he is officially divorced “way before today,” proposing lawyers could verify the divorce agreement. He said he would not publish legal documents out of respect for his ex-wife and framed a 24-hour window for acceptance as a test of who is misrepresenting the facts — while also saying the offer would remain open “whenever you feel ready.”
Why it matters
- This public clash spotlights how personal disputes between exchange founders can spill into the open and influence reputations in an industry already sensitive to legal and regulatory scrutiny. With notarized material and accusations traded on social media, the feud could draw attention from market participants and, potentially, legal teams on both sides.
Both founders have used X to air their claims, and the back-and-forth shows no sign of cooling. Observers will be watching for any corroborating evidence, legal follow-ups, or apologies that might settle — or further inflame — the dispute.
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