Binance founder Changpeng Chao (CZ) informed OKX founder Star Xu, “I'm completely satisfied to guess $1 billion,” and “I'm formally divorced.”
It escalated rapidly.
This week, the feud between Binance and OKX reached its core with one of many largest peer-to-peer bets ever supplied publicly.
As if betting wasn't ostensibly attention-grabbing sufficient, Xu's response is that whereas playing isn't authorized for residents of the United Arab Emirates, polygamy is.
For context, CZ labored at Xu's cryptocurrency change OKCoin, However left in a contested scenario Earlier than creating Binance. Since then, the 2 exchanges have turn into fierce opponents, with common public battles over listings and varied market practices.
CZ left OKCoin in early 2015 after Xu tried to renegotiate his stake. OKCoin's 2015 Reddit assertion accused CZ of not offering the code, operating his personal buying and selling bots on the corporate's techniques, and launching a marketing campaign of “lies and determined nonsense” after leaving the corporate.
CZ's memoir characterizes his departure extra vaguely as a conflict of visions.
What occurred that escalated their disagreement to a billion {dollars}, anyway?
CZ's memoir exposes years of soiled laundry
When CZ printed a ebook freedom of cash On April 8, Mr. Xu known as him a “routine liar.” Among the many many accusations, Mr. Xu claimed that CZ lied about his marital standing.
CZ doubles down and calls Xu's guess, pushing in his $1 billion chip.
Xu additionally claimed that CZ printed lies about his historical past at OKCoin, his contract dispute with Roger Ver, his alleged crypto market manipulation, and whether or not he was a authorities informant in opposition to Justin Solar.
Fed up, Mr. CZ requested Mr. Xu, “You’ll be able to apologize now.'' He supplied “$1 billion (or no matter quantity you select)” and gave Xu 24 hours to simply accept.
In accordance with CZ's characterization, a refusal would “clearly reveal who has misrepresented the general public.”
Mr. Xu declined, citing skilled obligations in addition to the illegality of playing in his nation of residence.
“Publicly providing to guess $1 billion as the final word beneficiary of a regulated firm is solely unprofessional conduct,” he mentioned.
Yi He backs up CZ
Mr. Xu requested particulars about Mr. CZ's largest supply of private wealth. “Are your Binance shares legally separated out of your ex-wife?”
Yi He, the mom of CZ's youngsters and apparently concerned within the controversy, remained silent on social media. In 2014, after assembly CZ at a blockchain occasion, Yi helped CZ be a part of OKCoin as chief know-how officer.
Quickly, they grew to become romantically concerned.
Yesterday, she promoted Binance's on-chain prediction market, asking customers to guess on whether or not Xu will publicly apologize to CZ.
She provoked Xu into preventing.
Let's have a look at it based mostly on possibilities:
“Will Star apologize to CZ?” https://t.co/mBdeGNCwaB— Yi He (@heyibinance) April 9, 2026
CZ claims Star Xu had Leon Li arrested
Essentially the most explosive new allegations within the memoir concern Huobi (now HTX) founder Leon Li.
CZ wrote in his ebook that Xu (utilizing star star Xu's actual title Minxin) reported Li to Chinese language police, and Li was detained in November 2020.
Mr. Xu known as the declare “fully false data.”
This discrepancy is one other instance of the CZ vs. Xu battle.
Particulars at problem within the OKCoin contract
This week, Mr. Xu resurfaced a 2015 video exhibiting an OKCoin accountant's QQ account allegedly accessed within the presence of a notary public.
In a video in its QQ account, CZ seems to be submitting two variations of the Bitcoin.com area settlement. This video first reveals model 7, then a modified model 8 with a six-month termination clause that model 7 doesn't have.
CZ beforehand believed the chat recordings have been the results of an unauthorized account break-in.
“Do you imagine that rationalization?” Mr. Xu requested rhetorically.
Roger Ver has filed a lawsuit in opposition to OKCoin's Hong Kong subsidiary for about $570,000 over a contract dispute.
In different phrases, CZ and Xu are basically discussing their deal this week by way of a QQ video from 10 years in the past.
CZ calls Huobi founder's claims 'routine liar' in new ebook
additional feud
Mr. Schuh had spent months previewing his arguments in public earlier than CZ's ebook arrived.
After the 2025 flash crash, Xu blamed Binance for unpegging Etena’s USDE stablecoin.
“October tenth was attributable to an irresponsible advertising marketing campaign by sure firms,” Xu wrote. “There are not any problems. There are not any accidents.”
He additionally accused Binance of repeatedly launching what he known as Ponzi-like schemes and utilizing influencer campaigns to suppress dissent.
“I’ll attempt to not remark additional on this matter,” CZ mentioned, retweeting a rebuttal from allies.
In 2023, Mr. CZ pled responsible to failing to keep up an efficient anti-money laundering program, paid a $50 million felony high-quality, and watched as the corporate he based paid greater than $4.3 billion in fines.
He was pardoned by President Donald Trump final yr after serving a four-month jail sentence.
