- The Block reported that Binance’s Shanghai office was raided by the police.
- Changpeng Zhao (CZ) quickly responded and went into the offensive to refute The Block’s claims.
- CZ knows that he can file a lawsuit against the crypto news site but says that that’s “too much trouble for now.”
On Thursday, The Block published an article that rocked Crypto Twitter (CT).
The New York-based crypto media outlet reported that Binance’s Shanghai office was raided and shut down by the police. The article also noted that some 50 to 100 employees of the Shanghai site including members of the top brass were forced to either work remotely or relocate to neighboring Singapore.
At the center of The Block’s bombshell is Binance’s claim that they don’t have an office in Shanghai. The crypto exchange’s CEO and CFO were both adamant that the location in question does not exist. Hours after the revelation, The Block began to soften their stance.
CZ: ‘No Police, No Raid, No Office’
It took about eight hours before Binance’s chief executive chimed in on the controversy. Perhaps, the time difference played a role in CZ’s delayed response. Nevertheless, the Binance CEO lit up Twitter with a tweetstorm to vehemently deny the existence of a Shanghai office. According to CZ, it has been more than two years since a Binance office in Shanghai existed.
After clearing the air, CZ immediately went on the offensive. The chief executive shared an image of a conversation about how Chinese-based exchanges pay 12-man teams to write negative content about Binance. Perhaps, people from one of these teams were the sources of The Block.
Yi He, co-founder and CMO of Binance, joined the conversation and called The Block’s report “fake news.” Through crypto insider Dovey Wan, Yi He shared her two cents as she felt fortunate that Chinese people do not trust “western crypto news.”
The Block Stealthily Changing Their Tone
It didn’t take long for The Block to subtly change their story. The media outlet tweeted,
The Block stands by our sources and reporting that Binance’s Shanghai office was shut down.
This caught the ire of CZ as it appears that The Block is no longer standing by its claim that the Shanghai location was raided by the police.
To make matters worse for The Block, Larry Cermak, the publication’s director of research, tweeted that police involvement is no longer 100% certainty. It appears that their sources are now giving conflicting statements. CZ was quick to pick up on the development as he retweeted the news to his followers.
With CZ gaining the upper hand, many are suggesting to sue The Block so the media company can reveal their sources. The top honcho of the crypto exchange considered it but said that he was not yet ready to launch a full-on assault against the crypto news firm. However, that may change if The Block continues to publish articles that promote fear, uncertainty, and doubt (FUD) against Binance.
At the end of the day, The Block’s reporting caused a lot of confusion. They are now backtracking their “police raid” headline, which is helping people see that they’re not a very trustworthy news site.
Last modified: November 22, 2019 2:15 PM UTC
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