In a provocative statement, laced with sarcasm, Changpeng Zhao, known as CZ, the co-founder and former CEO of Binance, suggested that President Donald Trump and Bitcoin’s (BTC) creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, could be the same person. This came in the wake of a presidential pardon granted to CZ, as announced by White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt. The pardon was described as an exercise of President Trump’s constitutional authority, aimed at addressing charges brought against Zhao by the Biden Administration during its crackdown on the crypto sector. Binance Founder Links Trump To Bitcoin’s Creator CZ’s comments followed a statement from President Trump, who remarked, “Let me just tell you that he was somebody that, as I was told, I don’t know him, I don’t believe I’ve ever met him … he had a lot of support, and they said that what he did is not even a crime.” Related Reading: HYPE Soars Beyond $40 Following Robinhood Listing: What’s Next For Hyperliquid’s Price? CZ later took to social media platform X (formerly Twitter), acknowledging Trump’s comment about not having met him, adding, “It would be my honor someday. President Trump and Satoshi. Might be the same person.” In 2023, the founder of the crypto exchange Binance served a four-month prison sentence after pleading guilty to charges related to anti-money laundering (AML) violations, and he was released in September 2024. Concerns Raised By Democratic Critics Despite their statements, some critics from the Democratic Party have pointed to investments between YZi Labs and the Trump family’s World Liberty Financial (WFLI) as a potential conflict. Related Reading: Volatility Loading: Dogecoin Eyes Explosive Path To $3 Trump has been a skeptic of cryptocurrencies, particularly Bitcoin (BTC). However, since his presidential campaign last year, he has shifted towards supporting pro-crypto regulations, which have contributed to the growth and adoption of digital assets in the country. Featured image from Bloomberg, chart from TradingView.com
Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao has suggested that the highly anticipated Altseason isn’t here yet as most altcoins continue bleeding, while some market watchers consider the worst might be over soon. Related Reading: ‘All Options On The Table’: Bitcoin Must Hold This Level Ahead Of Trump’s Crypto Summit CZ Says There’s No Altseason Yet On Friday, Changpeng Zhao, also known as CZ, responded to an X user asking when the Altseason will happen. The Binance founder pointed out the price tracking and market data website CoinMarketCap (CMC), which recently added an “Altcoin Season Index.” CZ highlighted that “of the top 100 altcoins,” very few have outperformed Bitcoin (BTC) in the past three months, suggesting that the Altseason won’t happen yet. As the website states, the CMC Altcoin Season Index page “provides real-time insights into whether the cryptocurrency market is currently in Altcoin Season,” based on the performance of the top 100 altcoins against the flagship crypto over the past 90 days. Under this metric, an Altseason is in if 75% of the top 100 altcoins outperform BTC during the established period. To CZ, “This is a tough ranking system,” as he considers that 50 would be a good score for Altcoins. The CMC index page shows a score of 14/100, with only 14 altcoins outperforming BTC since early December. Some of the tokens in this list include Monero (XRM), Hyperliquid (HYPE), Pi (PI), Mantra (OM), Berachain (BERA), and the official Trump memecoin (TRUMP). Leading cryptocurrencies of 2024, like SUI and Solana (SOL), show 37% to 41% price decreases in the past 90 days. Meanwhile, memecoin sensations like dogwifhat (WIF), PEPE, FLOKI, and BONK have bled between 70% and 80% during this period. Analyst Michaël van de Poppe also noted that altcoins have had an overall negative performance on higher timeframes despite some recent price rallies. “Massive green day on some Altcoins, they are up 2%! Then, you zoom out, and you zoom out, and you zoom out,” he asserted. Altcoins Bottom Could Be Near Altcoin Sherpa stated that altcoins were in “about the same or worse” positions during the Summer 2024 retrace, pointing out that “things were also pretty bleak overall and then we saw some strong bounces in August.” However, he noted that, unlike last year, the market doesn’t have a “Trump Pump coming.” Recently, some of the top cryptocurrencies saw a significant price increase after US President Donald Trump announced a strategic reserve that would include SOL, XRP, Cardano (ADA), Ethereum (ETH), and BTC. Nonetheless, after the March 6 executive order establishing a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and a “Digital Asset Stockpile,” the White House AI and Crypto Czar, David Sacks, clarified that the previously named altcoins were used as references for the most valuable tokens in the market. Sherpa considers that the market’s bottom is close, but “we still also probably have the chop period to get through” before any substantial recovery. On the contrary, some industry figures have also commented on altcoins’ overall performance this cycle, suggesting that the Altseason already started but will be different from previous cycles. Related Reading: Stellar (XLM) Price Setting Up For Rally To $1.60 – Here Are The Levels To Watch Recently, CryptoQuant’s founder and CEO, Ki Young Ju, stated that the Altseason had begun. He affirmed there will not be a direct Bitcoin-to-altcoins rotation this cycle, as BTC dominance isn’t the key metric that defines it. To the CEO, trading volume is the metric that defines it this time. Ju also pointed out that this will be a very selective and challenging altseason, with only a few altcoins with strong narratives expected to thrive. Featured Image from Unsplash.com, Chart from TradingView.com
Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, also known as “CZ,” has taken the crypto market by storm after sharing his dog’s name and picture. The announcement sparked the launch of multiple tokens inspired by the pet and was further fueled by BNB Chain’s memecoin launchpad’s name-guessing contest. Related Reading: BNB Flips Solana’s Market Cap Amid Market Retrace – Breakout To $700 Coming? CZ Sparks Memecoin Frenzy On Wednesday, Changpeng Zhao acknowledged the cycle’s memecoin frenzy after an X user asked if he had a dog. The Binance founder revealed he had “not a Shiba Inu, but a Belgian Malinois,” which resulted in the crypto community asking for the name and picture of his dog. CZ inquired about how it would work if he shared the information, asking if people would create memecoins based on the dog, how investors would know which one is the “official” token, and if it even mattered. He joked he would mull whether to “respect his privacy, or dox the dog for the cause,” sparking massive speculation about an official memecoin launch. On Thursday, CZ shared on X that he would officially share his dog’s picture and name at 8:00 PM Dubai time, or 4:00 PM UTC, sending investors into a frenzy over the upcoming post. Community members launched several tokens with the possible names of CZ’s four-legged companion, some reaching up to $60 million in market capitalization. Arkham noted that the two frontrunner tokens on the BNB chain, BROWNIE, and PERRY, significantly surged on Thursday morning. Remarkably, an investor made over $1 million with less than a $12,000 initial in 12 hours. Four.Meme Kicks-Off Token Event BNB Chain’s token launchpad, Four.Meme joined the frenzy, announcing a “CZ Dog Name Meme Token Betting Event.” According to the X post, the tokens with the same then-unknown name of CZ’s dog would be part of a competition. The tokens created today before 4:00 PM UTC would be eligible to participate and “become the next big meme.” The announcement detailed: 30 minutes after CZ’s post, the highest market cap token on Four.Meme wins! The winner’s token will have its tokens in LP revenue regularly burned by Four.Meme! At 4:12 UTC, the Binance founder shared a picture with his dog, Broccoli. The dog was named after the vegetable because he wanted “a name that started with B and has some green in it.” CZ wrote that he and Broccoli bonded over their difficulty socializing, adding that the dog helped him get a “good break” from the “intense negotiations with the DOJ back then.” He also stated that he never imagined his pet would be part of the blockchain ecosystem, adding that there’s “never a dull day in crypto.” Broccoli Immortalized In The Blockchain CZ clarified that he was “just posting” his dog’s pictures and name and not issuing a memecoin himself. He considered it was up to the community whether to launch a token. The BNB foundation “may provide rewards for the top memes on the BNB Chain, giving LP support or other rewards,” but the details are still being discussed. After the “Pet reveal,” the tokens guessing Broccoli’s name plummeted, with the leading memecoin falling from a $22 million market cap to less than $1 million in less than a minute. Related Reading: Bitcoin Finds Price Stability: Reclaiming $101,000 Depends On This Level Meanwhile, the creation of memecoins inspired by CZ pet’s real name spiked, with several BNB Chain and Solana-based tokens flooding DexScreener’s feed. At the time of writing, CZ’s Dog (BROCCOLI), launched a minute after Zhao’s post, has become the largest gainer. The memecoin reached a $300 million market capitalization minutes after being created and is currently trading at $0.0745, with a $75 million market cap. The winning token of the Four.Meme contest is yet to be announced. Featured Image from Unsplash.com, Chart from TradingView.com
Former Binance CEO Changpeng "CZ" Zhao has been ordered to remain in the U.S. while awaiting his sentencing in February.