OKX and Binance Founders Clash Over Past Allegations and Personal Disputes

A public feud has erupted between the founders of two of the world's largest cryptocurrency exchanges, OKX and Binance. Star Xu, founder of OKX, utilized the social media platform X to label Binance founder Changpeng "CZ" Zhao a "habitual liar," sparking a series of heated exchanges that revisit long-standing grievances. The friction was triggered by the publication of Zhao's memoir, which prompted Xu to revisit allegations from 2015. During Zhao's brief tenure at OKCoin, founded by Xu, Zhao was accused of "harmful acts of conduct" and misleading statements tied to a contract dispute involving Roger Ver. Zhao has consistently denied these claims, stating in his book that Xu had falsely accused him of forging contracts. The dispute further devolved into personal territory when Xu questioned Zhao's marital status and the legal separation of his Binance equity. In a high-stakes response, Zhao challenged Xu to a $1 billion bet—or any amount of Xu's choosing—to prove that his divorce had been finalized, noting that lawyers could verify the agreement. Xu rejected the wager, citing compliance considerations tied to running a regulated exchange. He instead pressed Zhao on whether his Binance stake had been legally separated as part of the divorce proceedings, a line of questioning Zhao dismissed as irrelevant. While the clash highlights the intense rivalry between the two industry titans, it is largely viewed as a personal conflict with no immediate impact on the operational stability of either platform.