CEO of Binance Changpeng Zhao has revealed the details of the creation and development of the bitcoin exchange. He reacted to the controversy about the use of the thesis by the opponents about the close connection of the platform with the Chinese authorities, which they spread through the media.

In August, an analyst named FatMan revealed that his trusted sources confirmed that FTX was running a black PR campaign against the platform.

A verified source confirmed that FTX’s PR firm M Group Communications was contracted to publish negative media articles about rival exchange Binance. Hired journalists are given access to a “black book” of anti-Binance people and testimonials for research.

— FatMan (@FatManTerra) August 24, 2022

Patrick Hillmann, director of public relations at Binance, intervened in the discussion. Former Washington Post journalist Jacob Silverman asked him who Guangying Chen was.

I wrote a story about Binance for the Washington Post. It is the largest crypto exchange in the world. There is so much to write about. I also report on FTX and many other crypto industry players.

While I’m here, who is Guangying Chen?

— JacobSilverman.shill (@SilvermanJacob) August 25, 2022

In the article, Zhao noted the increasing number of defamatory attacks against the company recently. With this, he accepted that it should be handled behind closed doors, not only in the pages of the media, but also in meetings with politicians.

Binance CEO explained that the purpose of such campaigns is to undermine the credibility of the brand and weaken the attractiveness of new partners and investors. Attacks, like those associated with CryptoLeaks, are getting more and more sophisticated.

Such actions undermine the credibility of the entire industry. Binance does not intend to respond in the same way, as it focuses on building the largest crypto exchange and, more broadly, a Web3 company.

According to Zhao, employees of many companies have similar profiles, dominated by Asians.

“Over the past two years, with active expansion, Europeans and Americans have come to dominate Binance’s senior management. In general, the state is globally dispersed throughout the world. But many continue to stubbornly call the platform a “Chinese company,” which is not a good thing,” he said. Top manager complained.

He drew attention to the challenges it had to face, given the explosive growth of an industry that was still in its infancy. These include increasing the team and improving the system so that the five-year-old company operates as a well-established institution with a two-hundred-year history.

Binance was founded in July 2017, but Zhao, along with two Americans, two British and one Japanese, returned to Shanghai in 2005 and has built several IT startups over the years.

Zhao considers himself Canadian. After the events in Tiananmen Square, his family immigrated to Canada when he was just 12 years old. He then studied at McGill University and worked at Bloomberg, after which he decided to try his hand at entrepreneurship.

Binance CEO recalled that as a foreigner, he had to pay 25% tax when buying a condominium in Shanghai, and then sold it to buy his first cryptocurrency.

“I can have 25% more bitcoin today without tax” he reasoned.

Two years before Binance, Zhao and his partners founded Bijie Tech, which provides the service. Change as a Service other exchanges (art and collectibles such as stamps, baseball cards).

He said things were going well, but two years later Chinese authorities banned his clients.

On July 14, 2017, Zhao decided to start a bitcoin exchange together with people from Bijie Tech. This happened during the bear market that emerged as a result of pressure from industry participants by regulators in Japan and South Korea.

On September 4 of the same year, the Communist Party demanded that cryptocurrency platforms be shut down. As a result, Binance CEO and his team had to leave China.

At first, the employees worked remotely, but the issue of opening a head office has not fallen off the agenda all this time. The COVID-19 pandemic has effectively solidified the mold. Zhao stressed that even the Nasdaq-listed Coinbase is not decentralized.

Guangying Chen Zhao, mentioned earlier, has been invited to Bijie Tech to work as the legal representative of the company. He described it as “general practice” for foreigners like himself working in Shanghai due to legal restrictions.

Chen had to leave the country, as did Zhao and the Binance team. The status of the legal representative became the basis of conspiracy theories that Bijie Tech and Binance own it, which is not true.

Chen faced attacks from the media and social media haters, including the Chinese, and as a result, he moved to one of the European countries for “a more peaceful life with his family.” Zhao expressed regret that he had to deal with this until now.

According to Binance CEO, Chen currently leads the organization’s management and clearing team. Zhao stressed that he does not own the platform and is not a secret agent of the Chinese government.

The top executive emphasized that Binance cannot be called a “Chinese company” either.

“Binance was never included in China. We also do not operate as a culturally Chinese company. We have subsidiaries in many countries including France, Spain, Italy, UAE and Bahrain. We do not have any legal entities in China and do not plan to open them.”explained.

Zhao complained that due to the status of an ethnic Chinese and the presence of people from China in the province, Binance is an easy target for the media and even politicians who “hate our industry.”

“I’m a Canadian citizen, period. My origin or immigration from China should not be a red letter that I will wear for the rest of my life. It does not give anyone the freedom to slander, make false claims, or question anyone’s loyalty to their country.” Zhao finished his words.

Recall that recently Reuters reported that the US authorities sought the records of the CEO of Binance to investigate money laundering.

In July, Zhao filed a lawsuit against Bloomberg Businessweek, accusing him of defamation.

Two years ago, the bitcoin exchange filed similar charges against Forbes.

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