Changpeng Zhao (CZ) found himself the target of two separate waves of misinformation this week, quickly debunking both a fabricated report of his disappearance and a recirculated Bitcoin quote as traders scrambled to react.
The most dramatic rumor, which exploded on WeChat and other social platforms, claimed the Binance founder had been swept out to sea by a rip current while surfing near Dubai’s Jumeirah Beach. According to the hoax, local Coast Guard deployed speedboats, drones, and helicopters in a search. CZ swiftly labeled the story “fake news,” pointing out that he does not surf — only kitesurfs, a different sport — and that he always has a safety boat follow him. “Dubai is not even a surfing destination,” he added, clarifying he has never tried Surf Abu Dhabi.
The rumor triggered a brief frenzy of meme coin speculation. Tokens launched on the Solana and BNB chain attracted short‑lived attention; one token on pump.fun saw over $114,000 in activity within hours. Most pools failed to gain meaningful liquidity, and prices crashed by more than 40% after CZ confirmed he was safe. The 49‑year‑old reiterated his skepticism toward meme coins, reminding developers to build real applications instead, and referenced the earlier TST token incident where a coin was falsely linked to Binance.
In a separate episode, a viral post claimed CZ had “just said” there was “No need to panic, Bitcoin will never die!” The recycle of his old comment came as Bitcoin hovered near $77,000 amid ETF outflows and global tensions. CZ responded with a laughing emoji and the dry remark: “‘just said’ a few years ago.” He also warned users about rising scams spreading through Telegram, GitHub, and LinkedIn, urging caution as crypto market pressure mounted.
