The recent meme coin frenzy surrounding BNB Chain has sparked considerable controversy. A prominent figure in the cryptocurrency community criticized today on Twitter, claiming that BNB Chain primarily relies on the influence of Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) to monetize its ventures, and pointed out that the user experience of the Binance wallet is extremely poor. In response, Zhao admitted that he has never purchased a meme coin, but acknowledged that the experience of using his own wallet is subpar and promised improvements in the future.
(Background: CZ apologizes! Compensates retail investors for the “Cauliflower Incident”: BNB Chain launches a $4.4 million meme coin incentive program)
(Additional context: Did his dog Broccoli cause the trouble? CZ complained: I can no longer post tweets; my words are always over-interpreted…)
The test token TST, created by the BNB Chain team for a tutorial video, unexpectedly gained popularity this month. Initially, this token was merely deployed as a short demonstration on the ecosystem launch platform four.meme by the BNB Chain team. However, after Zhao retweeted to clarify the situation on the 6th, interest surged. With Binance listing TST for spot trading on the 9th, the market capitalization of TST briefly exceeded $600 million on that day.
Shortly thereafter, Zhao revealed the name of his dog, Broccoli, leading to the emergence of hundreds of meme coins named Broccoli, further attracting market funds into BNB Chain. Benefiting from Zhao’s influence, Defillama data indicated that trading volume on BNB Chain approached $30 billion over the past week, with a weekly increase of 49.07%, placing it at the top among major public chains.
CZ responds to KOL’s criticism
However, the recent meme coin craze on BNB Chain has also triggered significant controversy. After TST received unexpected promotion from Zhao, Binance quickly listed it, but the price plummeted shortly after the listing, igniting widespread skepticism about Binance’s listing logic. Furthermore, last week, CZ faced criticism for not promptly revealing his dog’s name, which led to a flurry of speculation and the emergence of numerous meme coins based on guesses about the name, resulting in many retail investors incurring losses.
Cryptocurrency KOL Yuyue tweeted today criticizing the BNB Chain team’s professional capabilities and overall quality, stating that, based on observations from candlestick charts, price performance, and on-chain narratives, it essentially relies on the vampiric influence of CZ and Binance for monetization, with each informative tweet causing a price spike.
Yuyue also specifically called out the poor user experience of the Binance wallet, suggesting that CZ himself has never installed the wallet and relies entirely on internal employees for insights into on-chain activities, which explains the poor community feedback in recent times.
In response to the criticism, CZ tweeted to deny that he has never used the wallet but reiterated that he has not purchased any meme coins:
“I’ve tried many wallets. But I’ve never bought a meme.”
“I’ve tried many wallets. But I’ve never bought a meme.” ♂️
— CZ BNB (@cz_binance) February 17, 2025
Some users suggested that CZ should try using the Binance wallet to purchase meme coins and compare the smoothness of the experience with purchasing meme coins using the OKX wallet. In response, CZ promised improvements:
“I’ve criticized them (including Trust Wallet) many times. Changes are being made.”
“I’ve criticized them (including Trust Wallet) many times. Changes are being made.”
— CZ BNB (@cz_binance) February 17, 2025
