Changpeng Zhao, the CEO of Binance, has publicly denied rumors that he was shot 27 times and had dealings with an American inspection agency. Zhao shared a screenshot dismissing the report, reassuring the cryptocurrency community that he is alive and well. These rumors have previously circulated in March 2023, but were disproven by Zhao at the time. While the source and motive for these rumors remain unclear, some speculate that it may be an attempt to cause fear or manipulate the price of Binance’s tokens. These rumors come at a time when Binance is facing scrutiny from the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Binance Faces Legal Action by the SEC

The SEC has accused Binance of illegally offering crypto assets classified as securities, lying to American regulators, and inflating trading volumes. The director of the SEC’s enforcement division, Gurbir Grewal, alleges that Binance knew the rules and consciously chose to evade them, posing significant risks to their customers and investors. The SEC also alleges that Binance’s native currency BNB and a stablecoin initially issued by Paxos, BUSD, were unregistered securities. Following the lawsuit, BNB, Bitcoin, and Ethereum prices plunged, causing a flash crash in the cryptocurrency market. However, Bitcoin prices have since recovered in the last 24 hours.

Feature Image From Canva, Chart From TradingView