A long-running feud between OKX founder Star Xu and Binance founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao resurfaced on Thursday, with Xu calling CZ a “habitual liar” in a series of posts on X that repeat accusations dating back more than a decade.
The clash traces back to Zhao’s brief tenure at OKCoin, founded by Xu, when he was accused in 2015 of “malicious acts” and misleading statements linked to a contract dispute involving Roger Ver, claims Zhao previously disputed.
This latest flare-up also follows an earlier public spat in January, in which Xu blamed Binance-linked market dynamics for fueling the Oct. 10 crypto crash, a claim disputed by Binance and other market participants. The latest flare-up was sparked by CZ’s memoirs, which were published earlier this week, Xu said.
Reviving the decade-old issues, he said he had “no intention of revisiting these old issues involving CZ [..] but since I’ve been dragged back into this because of the book, let’s restate the facts,” he wrote.
“Out of the blue, Star [Xu] said that I had somehow forged a contract when I was working there [at OKCoin],” CZ said in his book. “… In May 2015, I got annoyed and made a public post on Reddit apparently denying forging any contracts … while I was at it, I described a few problems I saw at OKCoin.”
Xu, in his latest posts, pointed to a video he said shows evidence of conflicting contract versions and reiterated that Zhao had misled the public on the matter.
“After spending four months in prison, he continues to make false statements to the world,” Xu wrote, adding that “a habitual liar never changes their nature.”
The dispute escalated when Xu questioned whether Zhao had misrepresented his marital status, citing earlier CoinDesk reporting in which Zhao’s spouse was described as his “wife” in a letter sent to a judge. Xu said he would apologize if Zhao could produce a divorce agreement signed by both parties.
Zhao responded that he is “officially divorced” and challenged Xu to a bet of $1 billion or whatever amount Xu chose that the divorce had been finalized, saying lawyers could confirm the settlement while declining to release documents.
Xu declined the bet, citing compliance considerations tied to running a regulated exchange, and instead pressed Zhao on whether his Binance stake had been legally separated as part of a divorce.
Zhao dismissed the line of questioning, saying his Binance stake was “none of your business” and accused Xu of diversion.
