- Ellison believes CZ might have contributed to FTX’s implosion.
- The former Alameda CEO asserted at SBF’s trial.
- CZ had vehemently denied the claim last year.
Former Alameda CEO Caroline Ellison, who is also the prosecution star witness in the Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) criminal trial, claimed in court that a tweet from Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao contributed to the implosion of the FTX crypto exchange.
Ellison made the assertion during her third and final day of testimony, a session that provoked a series of reactions from her ex-paramour Bankman-Fried, whom prosecutors say was giggling and nodding his head throughout.
Blaming CZ’s Tweet for Triggering FTX Collapse
According to Ellison, CZ’s November 6 FTX liquidation alert on Twitter (X) prompted retail investors to run on the exchange, causing them to follow Binance’s example and withdraw their funds from FTX.
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In the now-labeled infamous tweet, CZ announced that Binance would be liquidating any remaining FTT tokens on its balance sheet, following what he termed “recent revelations that have come to light” regarding the FTX exchange.
While CZ was sharing this, SBF was losing his cool, according to Ellison.
Per Ellison, on the same day that CZ posted the liquidation alert, SBF created an internal memo claiming that the Binance executive was engaging in a negative PR against FTX. Specifically, he accused CZ of leaking Alameda’s balance sheet, blogging about it, and feeding it to CoinDesk, a key event that spiraled to the ultimate bankruptcy of FTX.
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The claim that CZ’s November 6th tweet might have directly influenced the downward trajectory of FTX isn’t new, as the CEO is on record dismissing the same allegation sometime last year.
CZ Refuted the Claim Earlier
In what he termed a “list of wrong narratives” in December 2022, CZ disputed allegations that he, his tweet, or a third party led to the collapse of FTX and reiterated that “FTX killed themselves (and their users) because they stole billions of dollars of user funds. Period.”
CZ asserted that no healthy business could be destroyed by a tweet and alleged that Ellison’s tweet 16 minutes after his was the real cause for people to dump FTT.
Read more about Ellison’s testimony on SBF’s obsession with Binance:
Ellison Exposes SBF’s Frantic Obsession with Crushing Binance
Stay updated on FTX’s Bitcoin price manipulation plot:
Shocking FTX Trial Unearths Bitcoin Price Manipulation Plan
