CZ: No Meme Coins, NFTs; Binance Listing Criticized

Binance Co-Founder CZ: ‘I Haven’t Bought a Single Meme Coin or NFT’

Binance co-founder and former CEO Changpeng Zhao, better known as CZ, has clarified his stance on meme coins and NFTs, stating that he has not purchased any. In a tweet on Sunday, CZ expressed his commitment to "fundamentals" in the crypto industry, distancing himself from the hype-driven meme coin culture that continues to dominate parts of the market.

CZ revealed that his holdings are limited to Bitcoin (BTC) and BNB (BNB), and he is not interested in sports cars, art, NFTs, or most altcoins. However, he made it clear that he is not against any of these things. Despite stepping away from Binance's day-to-day operations, CZ's words still carry significant influence in the industry.

CZ's remarks come in the wake of the Test (TST) token controversy, where a test meme coin from a Binance tutorial video unexpectedly exploded in value, reaching a $500 million market cap before crashing. TST was intended as a teaching tool in a BNB Chain tutorial on launching meme tokens on the Four.Meme platform. However, the token's name appeared briefly in the video, triggering speculation and a buying frenzy among Chinese crypto influencers. CZ repeatedly clarified that he had no involvement in the TST token.

CZ also offered insights into why meme coins have become so popular, suggesting that regulatory scrutiny against utility tokens may have played a role. He noted that over the past four years, a "powerful regulatory agency" had "sued anyone with any utility token, falsely claiming they are securities." This, he argued, drove projects to launch meme coins instead of utility tokens. With the new U.S. President Donald Trump's administration showing a friendlier stance toward crypto, the industry could see a regulatory shift that allows for wider adoption of utility tokens.

CZ criticized Binance's listing process, pointing out that its four-hour announcement-to-listing window enables traders to manipulate prices before CEX trading begins. He suggested that the notice period is necessary, but in those four hours, token prices go high on DEXes, and then people sell on CEX. CZ remains focused on "fundamentals" and believes that there