Binance CEO Changpeng ‘CZ’ Zhao has addressed rumors suggesting that his exchange was selling Bitcoin to protect the price of BNB (Binance Coin). In a tweet on June 13, CZ denied the allegations, stating that Binance had not sold BTC or BNB. He also mentioned that the exchange still holds a position in FTX’s FTT token, despite FTX facing financial difficulties.
These statements from CZ were in response to market analysts who claimed that Binance was engaging in wash trading, artificially inflating BNB’s trading volume to maintain its price above a specific threshold. CZ expressed skepticism about the analysts’ ability to determine specific sellers based solely on price charts involving millions of traders, dismissing their claims as fear, uncertainty, and doubt (FUD)
On June 12, a crypto analyst named JW alleged that Binance was selling spot Bitcoin aggressively to defend BNB’s price from dropping below $220. According to JW, as spot Bitcoin was sold off, BNB was purchased, which protected the $220 liquidation level but also limited the upside potential of Bitcoin.
These claims were supported by technical analysis platform Skew, which noted that Binance seemed to be selling BTC for USDT, which was then pumped into BNB since May 27. Skew further suggested that BNB was being sold off for BUSD to suppress BTC volatility. The platform characterized these activities as market manipulation and speculated that Binance had ulterior motives to prevent BNB and BTC from crashing.
Another market analyst, Joe Consorti, observed unusual price action on Binance and theorized that Binance might be selling spot BTC to support BNB. He noted significant selling pressure on Bitcoin that was not evident on other exchanges, leading to suspicions that Binance was propping up BNB. According to these analysts, Binance’s defense of the $220 level was aimed at avoiding a “liquidation waterfall.” CryptoSlate reported that if the price of BNB fell below $220, Binance’s BNB ecosystem could face a $200 million liquidation.
Despite these allegations and the regulatory challenges faced by Binance, BNB has seen a roughly 5% increase in the past 24 hours, reaching $246.96 at the time of writing, according to CryptoSlate’s data. In contrast, BTC has experienced a 0.88% decline, currently priced at $25,924. It’s worth noting that BNB is among the digital assets labeled as securities by the SEC in its June 5 lawsuit against Binance, a charge disputed by the exchange.
