CZ Binance Bought BNB to Save ICO Investors from Free-fall

Wilfred Michael

July 2nd, 2019Updated April 26th, 2025

It is now almost two years since Binance exchange started its ICO which has returned over 9000% profits to initial buyers. But that is just half the story according to CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) who told the audience at Asia Blockchain Summit, Tapei that the three weeks following the Binance ICO was the highest pressure […]

CZ Binance Bought BNB to Save ICO Investors from Free-fall

It is now almost two years since Binance exchange started its ICO which has returned over 9000% profits to initial buyers.

But that is just half the story according to CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) who told the audience at Asia Blockchain Summit, Tapei that the three weeks following the Binance ICO was the highest pressure period of his life.

According to CZ, those who invested in the Binance ICO were losing money shortly after the token sale, through which the exchange raised $15 million for its global crypto exchange platform.

There was no doubt that such a downtrend, could have had severe implications for the potential future of the project.

For instance, troubled investors could decide to cash out or as we’ve seen in several cases, attempt to bring a lawsuit against the company, a situation that would have brought a bad image to the yet-to-be-born exchange.

CZ revealed how he tried to save the situation,

“I took my own money and bought some BNB to stop the fall, but it didn’t work too much.”

It was only a few weeks after that seemingly free-fall that the ship settled, setting the tone for Binance to build out its solution eventually, and now attain a prestigious status as one of the most used crypto exchange in the industry.

However, CZ said in a follow-up tweet that he was “way more” pressurized in those three weeks than when he learned about the 7000BTC ($41 million) hack of the Binance exchange, two months ago. At this time, such a stance is understandable given that the Binance of 2019 could quickly pay back the stolen funds $41 million to users, but could have lost its footing two years ago over a $15 million fundraise.

What is that they use to say about entrepreneurs being born and not made?

Meanwhile, as the event wore on, CZ announced the upcoming launch of the Binance crypto futures trading platform.

Written by: