This week, cryptocurrency has been in the spotlight after Binance's competitor exchange FTX filed bankruptcy.
The incidents sparked fears that the so-called crypto contagion will bring down other major industry players.
Binance CEO CZ launches several initiatives to help the industry to recover.
Binance's co-founder and CEO, Changpeng Zhao has given multiple interviews discussing the outlook for cryptocurrencies.
The CEO of Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, slammed the former CEO of bankrupt crypto exchange FTX and took aim at economist Nouriel Roubini.
On November 17, appearing at the Milken Institute's Middle East and Africa Summit, Changpeng Zhao, known as "CZ," was requested to respond to a tweet by Sam Bankman-Fried in which he referred to a "sparring partner," widely assumed to be CZ, the CEO of rival exchange Binance.
“He's losing focus when he tweets about a grappling partner, his house is on fire, and all of this is happening around. I had no idea there was a problem in FTX before, else we would have sold those FTT tokens a long time ago,” he told CNBC's reporter Dan Murphy.
“On the day he tweeted that, he should have been focused on something else. He should not be tweeting.”
The American media outlet has reached out to FTX and Bankman-Fried for comment but has yet to get a response.
During the interview, economist Nouriel Roubini mentioned Changpeng Zhao as one of the "seven Cs of crypto," a disparaging list that also included "concealed, corrupt, crooks, criminals, con men, carnival barkers."
At an Abu Dhabi Finance Week event on Wednesday, Roubini labeled cryptocurrency and some of its major participants as an "ecosystem that is completely corrupt."
Zhao's reaction to the criticism was straightforward: "We don't care," he told CNBC on Thursday.
"Negative energy doesn't get you very far in life, and those people will often stay poor," he remarked, adding Roubini was "extremely disrespectful" and "didn't know the local custom."
The Binance CEO CZ has had a busy week of speaking engagements, and he declared on Wednesday that cryptocurrency "will be fine" after announcing plans for a recovery fund for projects that have fallen on hard times in the industry.
"We want today's strong industry players to shield the good industry players who may only be affected in the short term," Binance CEO CZ said, also speaking from Abu Dhabi.
This week has been dominated by the cryptocurrency as Binance's rival exchange FTX filed bankruptcy on Friday (November 11) and the price of bitcoin fell below $16,000 for the first time since 2020.
Concerns were also raised that the so-called "crypto contagion" could lead to the demise of other major crypto exchanges, such as Crypto.com, BlockFi, and many more. However, the company's CEO refuted the allegations, claiming that the platform was carrying out its business as usual.
In addition, CZ stated on Wednesday (Nov 16) that "there's a lot of pain in the short term, but in the long run it's speeding the efforts we're making to make this industry healthier."
What do you think about Binance CEO, CZ's recent interview? Do you think CZ is planning for something big to help recover the broader crypto sector? Share your views in the comment section below.
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