Former Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao has defended his long-standing buy-and-hold stance after critics accused him of misleading retail traders and promoting harmful market behavior.
The advice has ignited a fierce debate, showing how the crypto entrepreneur’s words still move sentiment and attract scrutiny, even without a formal role at Binance.
Buy-and-Hold Remarks Spark Backlash and Clarifications
Zhao’s latest comments followed an earlier January 25 post where he said few trading strategies beat buy-and-hold and added that it is his own approach, while stressing it was not financial advice.
The message drew pushback from users who argued that blanket buy-and-hold messaging ignores the high failure rate of crypto projects.
The Binance co-founder followed this on January 28 with clarifications, noting that the advice “obviously does not apply to every coin” and suggesting his comments were being twisted by fear, uncertainty, and doubt.
He also compared crypto to earlier tech cycles, where most startups failed while a small number delivered large gains. “If you ‘buy and hold’ all crypto ever created, you know how your portfolio will perform,” CZ said, arguing that selection matters and that investors should research projects rather than buying everything listed on an exchange.
Furthermore, the 48-year-old pushed back against claims that exchanges should only list assets with near-certain success. Responding to a Chinese-language post, he asked whether Nasdaq should have listed only the top internet companies in 1990, noting that future winners were impossible to predict at the time. He added that giving early-stage projects a chance does not mean investors must buy them.
Old Allegations Return as Supporters and Critics Clash
The debate widened as long-running accusations against Zhao resurfaced. Recently, trader StrongHedge called CZ “crypto’s biggest scammer” in a lengthy thread on X, repeating claims about past market manipulation, token listings, and Zhao’s 2023 U.S. conviction related to compliance failures. Crypto podcaster Leonidas echoed the criticism, accusing CZ of extracting large sums from the market and urging others to expose him.
However, these claims reflect opinions on social media and have not been proven in court beyond Zhao’s earlier plea agreement.
Others defended the crypto personality. User Zafer Erel countered that CZ had helped onboard millions of users, frozen scam-related funds, and donated to disaster relief and research rather than running off with customer assets.
The clash has come shortly after Zhao warned traders not to treat his jokes as investment signals. In a January 13 post, he said meme coins inspired by his offhand remarks were likely to end in losses, a message that again split Crypto Twitter between those blaming influencers and those questioning exchange practices.
Overall, the divide highlights a core tension in crypto: the philosophy of open permissionless listing versus calls for stricter quality gates to filter out potential scams.
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