Finance1 min read

'Bad time to troll': Binance cofounder Changpeng Zhao asks Elon Musk for 'respect' after post about bitcoin hack

By · Published by Everything Blog

In short

Changpeng Zhao responded to Elon Musk's emoji reactions on X by requesting respect and reminding him of Binance's $1 billion stake in SpaceX, which originated from a $500 million investment during the Twitter acquisition. The public friction follows a suspected attack by the North Korean cyber group TraderTraitor that initially halted platform operations. Although Binance has since restored deposits, about $3 billion in assets remain frozen as response efforts continue. This marks the second public clash between the executives since a 2021 dispute regarding Dogecoin and Tesla.

Key points

  • Elon Musk's online reaction to the major hack reignited past personal friction between th…: Elon Musk's online reaction to the major hack reignited past personal friction between the two tech executives dating back to 2021.
  • Changpeng Zhao leveraged Binance's substantial financial support of Elon Musk's business…: Changpeng Zhao leveraged Binance's substantial financial support of Elon Musk's business portfolio to publicly counter online mockery during a crisis.
  • The exchange continues to manage the fallout of the massive security breach by freezing b…: The exchange continues to manage the fallout of the massive security breach by freezing billions in crypto assets to mitigate losses.

Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1

The cofounder and former CEO of Binance asked Elon Musk not to "troll" the company on Friday and instead "show some support" after the SpaceX CEO appeared to mock the embattled cryptocurrency exchange in a series of social media posts.

After learning the world's largest crypto exchange had been hit by a $6.3 billion hack late Thursday, Musk posted several emojis, ranging from laughing to grimacing, on X.

In response, Changpeng Zhao reminded the SpaceX and Tesla CEO of Binance's equity stake in Musk's businesses.

Binance’s SpaceX stake, which stems from an earlier investment in what was then-Twitter, is worth more than $1 billion, Zhao said.

That's a tiny fraction of SpaceX's roughly $2 trillion valuation.

"Elon, have a lot of respect for you, but bad time to troll. Please stop," Zhao wrote. "Our SPCX shares (from our $500m investment in your Twitter takeover) are worth more than a billion. Would appreciate if you show a little support. Thanks!"

It's not the first time the pair has sparred online.

In Nov. 2021, Binance suspended Dogecoin withdrawals because of a wallet…

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