Crypto Twitter reacts to Binance CEO’s deleted tweet about Coinbase’s Bitcoin Holdings

by · November 22, 2022

Coinbase was trending on Twitter on November 22 after Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, also known as CZ, sent out a tweet that appeared to question Coinbase’s Bitcoin holdings.

In the since-deleted tweet, CZ referenced a Yahoo Finance article that claimed “Coinbase Custody holds 635,000 BTC on behalf of Grayscale.” CZ added, “4 months ago Coinbase (I assume exchange) has less than 600K,” with a link to a 4-month-old article from Bitcoinist. The Binance CEO made it clear that he was simply citing “news reports” and not making any claims of his own, but his tweet was not received well by the crypto community.

A screenshot of CZ’s since-deleted tweet.

Shortly after, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong indirectly responded to CZ in a series of tweets, saying; “If you see FUD out there – remember our finances are public (we’re a public company),” with a link to Coinbase’s third quarter shareholder letter. He clarified that his company has “~2M BTC. ~$39.9B worth as of 9/30 (see our 10Q).”

CZ deleted his tweet shortly after, saying: “Brian Armstrong told me the numbers in the articles are wrong. Deleted previous tweet. Let’s work together to improve transparency in the industry.”

Given recent market events, and Binance’s perceived role in instigating them, some have called out CZ for the insinuations. To recap, FTX’s liquidation crisis, which led to a general spiral in the market over the past two weeks, is believed by many to have been triggered by the Binance CEO after his tweets created panic and a bank run on FTX.

Will Clemente, co-founder of research firm Reflexivity Research, shared on Twitter; “The last tweet CZ made about Coinbase’s Bitcoin holdings that he just deleted was not a great look. I understand the argument that he is trying to protect the industry, but CZ is more than smart enough to know that exchange and custodial wallets are separate .”

Mario Nawfal, founder and CEO of IBCgroup.io, shared on Twitter: “Is CZ implying that Coinbase custody does NOT hold 1 to 1 BTC on behalf of Grayscale Trust???? See his last tweet. This is a concern I never have had until now. This is a VERY serious question (implied accusation?) to ask.”

Analyst, trader and investor @360_trader shared: “CZ showed today that he is all about one thing… his empire. He IS NOT here to look after the industry… he deleted the tweet… But now… as I already expected … he has revealed himself as a villain.”

Trader and investor @BobLoukas called out CZ for his lack of due diligence before tweeting. He shared: “CZ ‘Let’s work together to improve transparency in the industry.’ Also CZ – Let me tweet to millions a random FUD in the middle of a major bear market liquidity event before maybe just reaching out to confirm.”

Related: Binance CEO Denies Report Firm Meets Abu Dhabi Investors For Crypto Recovery Fund

On November 18, cryptocurrency investment products provider Grayscale Investments shared that all digital assets underlying Grayscale’s digital asset products are stored in the custody of Coinbase Custody Trust Company, LLC. Although the company has refused to provide chain proof of reserves or wallet addresses to show the underlying assets, citing “security concerns.” At the time of publication, the Coinbase $COIN token had experienced a 5.3% price increase.