Former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao has warned his followers to desist from selling their accounts. This warning comes amid news that accounts that are followed by the former Binance man are now going on sale for some USDT. Zhao noted that if they refuse to desist, he would unfollow any accounts that are sold.
“I will unfollow any sold accounts. If you see an account for sale, let me know. DM, tweet, notify interns,” he wrote on Monday. The ex-Binance CEO added that he follows accounts randomly because they are “supportive, informative, positive energy people in the community,” he said.
Zhao warns the public against purchasing accounts that he follows
Zhao made the statement while reacting to a post from an influencer on X, who noted that “Big Cousin,” a nickname used to describe Zhao by the Chinese crypto community, had started unfollowing some accounts recently. The influencer mentioned that it was a good thing, noting that some users have used the banner of being followed by CZ to carry out bad acts.
The influencer mentioned that as far back as 2022, an account followed by CZ could fetch up to 20,000 USDT, with some buyers reportedly paying around 3,000 USDT for a handle that later lost the coveted follow. “If it’s just for that ‘been followed by CZ’ kind of celebrity-chasing psychology, it can still be understood,” the influencer wrote.
However, he added that the most worrying thing is that these accounts end up falling into the hands of criminals who use them to carry out scams and rug pulls. Asian-based journalist Linwan had confirmed that Zhao had unfollowed 384 accounts in a single day on November 8. “Before November, CZ’s unfollows were sporadic, but on November 8, he unfollowed over three hundred accounts, which feels like a systematic purge of his follow list,” the journalist said.
CZ unfollows 384 X accounts in November
According to Linwan’s investigations, the mass unfollowing was on specified categories of users, including projects Binance had exited, investment fund managers with differing views, and industry media that had been bad-mouthing the exchange during its regulatory battles, on top of Zhao’s recent US presidential pardon. The accounts Zhao removed include BakerySwap, TopGoal, Bundle, KOI, CommEX, and ReachMe.
CommEX took over Binance’s operations in Russia after the company’s market exit, but Zhao is seemingly distancing himself from Binance’s legacy assets or its former regional ties. The “purge” also included notable industry names such as Olaf Carlson-Wee of Polychain Capital, Scott Lewis of DeFi Pulse, Darryl Wang of Tangent, Tushar Aggarwal of Persistence, and Howard Yuan of Shard Capital.
According to Lian, these individuals had recently advocated for “multi-centralized trading” and reduced dependence on Binance, ideas that may have clashed with Zhao’s positions. Media figures like Mira Christanto of Messari, Angie Lau of Forkast, and analyst Trista Kelley were also among those unfollowed, alongside former Binance executives Ling Zhang, the exchange’s former investment director, and Cobo founder Lü Xujun.
