Binance’s founder CZ sues Modern Media for libel as the richest man in the cryptocurrency world steps up action to defend his reputation
- Zhao Changpeng, the founder and chief executive of Binance who is also known as “CZ,” has filed a writ at the Hong Kong High Court against Modern Media
- Modern Media is the publisher of the Chinese edition of Bloomberg BusinessWeek in Hong Kong under a licensing agreement
The head of Binance has issued a lawsuit against Modern Media in Hong Kong for allegedly making defamatory statements on the cover of a Chinese magazine, as the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange steps up actions to defend its reputation amid a recent cryptocurrency rout.
Zhao Changpeng, founder and chief executive of Binance and known as “CZ” in the cryptocurrency community, has filed a writ at the Hong Kong High Court against Modern Media, alleging that the July 6, Chinese-language edition of the Bloomberg BusinessWeek magazine contained defamatory statements.
The claim centres on the July 6 issue’s original cover story with a portrait of Zhao and the headline “Zhao Changpeng’s Ponzi scheme,” published online and in hard copy. The original cover was subsequently removed from the magazine’s website.
Modern Media is the publisher of the Chinese edition of Bloomberg BusinessWeek in Hong Kong under a licensing agreement it has had with Bloomberg since June 2013. It is listed in Hong Kong and in January changed its English name to Meta Media.
The article in question was translated from Bloomberg’s June 23 article headlined “Can Crypto’s Richest Man Stand the Cold?” Bloomberg was not party to Zhao’s suit, and a spokesperson of the New York-based media organisation said that the lawsuit “refers to a headline that was not published in the original English-language version of the story.”
Modern Media declined to comment.
