Changpeng “CZ” Zhao’s new memoir has reignited a long-standing feud with OKX founder Star Xu. Xu accuses the former Binance chief of lying about their shared history and past disputes.
In his book, CZ revisits a contract dispute at OKCoin, claiming rivals sought to undermine him with "fear, uncertainty and doubt (FUD)" and portraying him as an inept chief technical officer. CZ also claims Huobi founder Leon Li told him that Xu had reported him to authorities years earlier.
Xu has denied these allegations, calling CZ a "habitual liar" and disputing multiple claims in the book. He revived earlier accusations that CZ forged contract documents.
The memoir also revisits October 2020, when OKX paused customer withdrawals for five weeks while Xu was reportedly under "soft arrest" in China. CZ suggested Xu held the keys to exchange wallets, contrasting it with Huobi's actions during Leon Li's detention.
Xu disputes the memoir's account, stating it misrepresents key parts of the story, including CZ’s tenure at OKCoin and allegations about market manipulation. He resurfaced OKCoin's 2015 rebuttal and a notarized chat video purpoting to show CZ sending different versions of a contract.
CZ’s memoir presents a different narrative, portraying himself as the target of attacks from rival exchanges. Xu has called claims of reporting CZ to authorities "purely false information" and accused CZ of lying about market manipulation and acting as a tainted witness.
