Journalist
Hassan Shittu
Journalist
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Binance founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao has pushed back against growing criticism on social media after a short comment about “buy and hold” investing sparked renewed debate over market losses, exchange responsibility, and his influence on crypto markets.
The controversy traces back to a post Zhao shared on January 25, in which he said that, based on his experience, few trading strategies outperform a simple “buy and hold” approach, adding that it was not financial advice.
The remark quickly circulated across crypto social media, with some users interpreting it as a blanket endorsement of holding any token listed on major exchanges regardless of quality or market conditions.
As prices continued to struggle across much of the market, critics argued that the message ignored the reality that many tokens never recover once they enter prolonged downturns.
On Sunday, Zhao responded directly to what he described as “twisted FUD” around the comment.
Writing on X, he clarified that the statement was never meant to apply to every cryptocurrency ever created.
He argued that buying and holding all assets in any industry would inevitably lead to poor performance, since most projects fail while a small number generate outsized returns.
This reaction was preceded by a series of aggressive responses, such as harshly written messages accusing Zhao and Binance of market control, liquidations, and misinformed communication with the population.
Other users have pegged their criticism on the October 10 market crash, which erased tens of billions of dollars in leveraged positions in crypto.
Can Anyone Really Predict a Long-Term Crypto Winner? Changpeng Zhao Weighs In
Buy-and-hold questions also arose again in the token listing.
Zhao responded to a user when they inquired whether exchanges should just include assets that one can hold long-term by stating that nobody can credibly tell what projects will be successful several years later.
He likened the crypto market to the early internet years, where exchanges ought to provide credible teams with an opportunity and investment decisions be left to users.
He stressed that the presence of a token on the list does not imply that anybody has to purchase it and repeated the necessity of personal research.
The controversy surrounding holding strategies has been conducted within industry tension on the wider plane.
Other traders stated that long-term holding, especially of large-cap assets like Bitcoin and Ether, has traditionally performed better than frequent trading among disciplined investors.
Others argue that long-term drawdowns, particularly in altcoins, have put many portfolios underwater, and as such, generalized advice can no longer be easily implemented.
Binance Under the Spotlight as Industry Reflects on October 10/10 Crash
Binance was closely linked to the October 10–11, 2025 crypto market crash after technical failures during extreme volatility prevented users from managing orders, worsening mass liquidations.
System overloads, pricing display errors, asset depegging, and failed risk controls contributed to $283 million in losses.
Binance acknowledged the issues, compensated affected users, fixed pricing bugs, strengthened infrastructure, and updated risk parameters to prevent a repeat.
Institutional voices have also entered the conversation, with market observers noting that forced deleveraging following October’s crash appears largely complete, shifting attention toward longer-term positioning rather than short-term volatility.
At the same time, criticism of Binance has expanded beyond trading philosophy into governance and market structure.
Industry executives, including Star Xu, the CEO of OKX, have publicly warned that short-term incentives and aggressive token promotion can undermine trust and slow broader adoption.
Supporters of Binance, however, argue that much of the backlash reflects broader frustration with the market cycle rather than evidence of coordinated wrongdoing.
