Crypto Showdown: OKX CEO Blames Binance for October Mayhem – You Won’t Believe What Happened!

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In a twist that could only be described as “you’ve got to be kidding me,” OKX CEO Star Xu has taken it upon himself to point the finger at Binance for the catastrophic crypto market crash on October 10. You know, the one that wiped out tens of billions of dollars faster than you can say “FTX who?” Apparently, the fallout from this little fiasco has been likened to the aftermath of a messy divorce-only this time, it’s the wallets that are crying.

Star Xu: Binance’s Marketing Madness to Blame for Market Mayhem

In a rather theatrical statement on X-because where else does one air their grievances these days?-Star Xu declared that the October 10 sell-off was not some enigmatic market event shrouded in mystery. No, it was simply the result of “irresponsible marketing campaigns.” And if that doesn’t sound like a classic case of passing the buck, I don’t know what does! On that fateful day, Bitcoin experienced a staggering 16.5% flash crash, plummeting from $121,000 to $101,000. A cruel reminder that even cryptocurrencies can have bad hair days.

Xu didn’t stop there; he went on to blame Binance’s temporary user-acquisition campaign, which offered up to 12% APY on USDe-while also allowing users to treat it like a stablecoin alongside USDT and USDC. If that sounds like a recipe for disaster, it probably is! He described USDe as a “tokenized hedge fund product,” which is just a fancy way of saying, “Hey, there’s risk here, but we packaged it with a shiny bow.” Users were practically encouraged to convert their USDT and USDC into USDe for a taste of that sweet yield. However, as they say, what goes up must come down, and boy, did it come down hard!

How did this happen, you ask? Well, traders began using USDe as collateral to borrow more USDT, creating a delightful little leverage loop that resulted in APYs soaring to outrageous heights of 24%, 36%, and even over 70%. Users, lulled into a false sense of security because, naturally, it’s Binance, thought they were playing it safe. Spoiler alert: they weren’t. When market volatility kicked in, USDe quickly depegged, leading to a cascade of liquidations that made everyone wish they had just stuck to their piggy banks.

Xu, ever the diplomat-or perhaps just savvy enough to avoid blame-stressed that industry leaders like Binance need to prioritize transparency and stronger risk controls. Because nothing says trust quite like a well-managed crypto exchange, right?

CZ Strikes Back!

Meanwhile, Binance co-founder and former CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) wasn’t having any of Xu’s finger-pointing. During a Binance Square AMA (that’s Ask Me Anything for those not in the know) on January 31, 2026, CZ argued that the October 10 sell-off was actually due to some tariff-related economic news, not some nefarious system failures or underhanded tactics. Because, of course, blaming tariffs is always easier than facing the music.

But CZ didn’t stop there! He claimed that given Bitcoin’s massive market scale and liquidity, it would be nearly impossible for one entity to manipulate prices merely by “dumping.” Oh, the irony! His internal review did reveal some hiccups on the day of the crash, like temporary transfer issues and some UI display problems, but CZ was adamant that these were mere blips on the radar and not the cause of the chaos.

Adding fuel to the fire, Haseeb, the Managing Partner at Dragonfly, leaped to Xu’s defense, pointing out that the timing of USDe’s depegging happened after Bitcoin had already hit rock bottom, questioning Xu’s claims. It seems like the crypto world is not short on drama, folks!

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2026-02-01 12:13