BNB: All fingers point to CZ as Binance stays atop market minds
- BNB and Binance continue to be among the top discussions around the crypto community.
- CZ has not yet addressed recent allegations, as more criticism trooped in.
Both Binance and its native coin Binance Coin [BNB] have rarely had a week off without controversy. While the exchange and coin remain at the forefront of the crypto market’s attention, the spotlight isn’t exclusively positive.
How much are 1,10,100 BNBs worth today?
On the wrong side of the divide
Due to these issues, Binance and BNB became the first and third fastest-rising subjects in the market. According to Santiment, one cogent reason BNB was in most of the discussion was because of the concerns about support for its price action.
? #Binance and $BNB are currently the first and third (respectively) fastest rising topics in #crypto. Major allegations point to #CZBinance continuing to actively sell off their share of #Bitcoin to support their own native token and keep it propped up above key support levels. pic.twitter.com/hX7Mun6MuF
— Santiment (@santimentfeed) August 23, 2023
Lately, Binance has come under intense scrutiny for defending the BNB value by selling its Bitcoin [BTC] holdings. And in turn, creating demand for the exchange coin. Also, the recent suspension of SEPA payouts by Binance has raised questions about regulatory compliance and its reputation.
But all hands from major players in the ecosystem point to one person— Chanpeng Zhao (CZ), the outspoken CEO of Binance. AMBCrypto had previously reported how a number of analysts have accused CZ of manipulating the market all in his bid to “save BNB.”
While there has been no concrete proof of the allegations, CZ, in an unusual fashion, has not responded publicly to the matter. The Binance CEO is an active user of X (formerly Twitter).
But an assessment of his posts and replies on the social media platform revealed that CZ has done all he can to evade responding to the accusations. However, this lack of clarity has affected BNB in other places.
The bashing hasn’t stopped
For instance, BNB’s weighted sentiment tanked on 18 August such that it reached lows that had never been experienced before. The weighted sentiment measures the unique social volume around an asset while indicating the acumen around the cryptocurrency.
At press time, BNB’s weighted sentiment was -3.578. This suggests that the broader market was wary of interacting or transacting the coin.
While CZ continues to remain quiet despite the criticism, other analysts have not ceased condemning the Binance CEO. The latest fault-finding has come from renowned trader Peter Brandt.
Brandt, who was responding to a Mike Alfred lambast of CZ, said Binance and its CEO were a “global scam.” He also did not leave BNB out of the picture, calling the coin a “cheap fiat.”
I have stated for years that CZ and @binance is a global scam and $BNB just a cheap fiat. Watch it all unravel https://t.co/B1SRFFWgY0
— Peter Brandt (@PeterLBrandt) August 22, 2023
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Meanwhile, the Open Interest in BNB has been increasing. Open interest is the total number of outstanding derivative contracts for an asset that has not been settled.
Therefore, the hike in the metric suggests that traders were pumping liquidity into BNB contracts.