Amid market instability, Bitcoin faced a steep drop of over 20% in just a week. Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, the founder of Binance, tweeted “Poor again” as Bitcoin fell to $60,000 during early trading hours on Friday.

This tweet elicited a strong reaction, particularly from a well-known crypto commentator who known as “Nebraskangooner.” He sharply criticized CZ’s remarks, stating:

“You dumped the market, and now you’re mocking everyone for being poor? Weird flex.”

This sentiment reflects the mounting frustration among retail investors who incurred losses, speculating that Binance’s actions may have played a part in the market’s decline. Earlier this week, CZ refuted various accusations, deeming them as “imaginary FUD,” denying claims that Binance sold $1 billion worth of Bitcoin to instigate the drop and countering critiques that he had single-handedly undermined the crypto supercycle.

CZ further clarified that the balances in Binance’s wallets reflect user transactions rather than proprietary trades and noted that the fund’s transition from stablecoins to Bitcoin will occur over a month.

In a lighter tone, he joked about his influence over the crypto market, wishing he could control it at will.

Despite these explanations, the aggravation between retail traders and larger exchanges like Binance remains. Some community members have associated Binance with the severe market crash on October 10 of the previous year, which led to massive losses in leveraged positions. Furthermore, industry figures, including OKX’s Star Xu, have pointed accusations at Binance for that incident.

Addressing Misinformation Campaigns

CB, formerly associated with Binance, recently took steps to dismantle a misinformation effort aimed at him and the exchange. The campaign involved a fraudulent account that misrepresented support for Binance while disseminating critical opinions. This account boasted 863,000 followers and appeared credible at first glance, leveraging images from a BNB Chain event.

However, CZ asserted that manipulated images showing him and Binance executive Yi He were circulated and that elements of the account’s history suggested it may have been hacked or sold, changing its focus drastically after previously sharing unrelated content. He condemned the campaign as uninspired, indicating it likely came from a competitor intent on tarnishing Binance’s reputation.