Binance CZ denies Bloomberg report of Abu Dhabi fundraising attempt

The CEO of Binance, CZ, has denied a report published by Bloomberg on Nov. 21 that he was seeking investment for an industry recovery fund. CZ took to Twitter to succinctly confirm that the report was “false.”

False

— CZ 🔶 Binance (@cz_binance) November 22, 2022

The Bloomberg article stated that “Changpeng.

“CZ” Zhao and several deputies met with investors in Abu Dhabi last week in an effort to raise cash for a crypto industry recovery fund, according to people familiar with the matter.”

However, given that CZ has now denied that he spoke with investors regarding the new recovery fund, it appears that the report may have misrepresented the Binance CEO after he attended the recent Milken Institute Middle East and Africa Summit on Nov. 17. CZ lives in Dubai which is just an hour away from Abu Dhabi.

According to Bloomberg, a Binance representative stated that CZ’s meetings focused on “global regulatory matters.”

“CZ’s meetings in Abu Dhabi were all focused on general global regulatory matters — specifically how Middle Eastern regulators could lead the globe by exploring more aggressive proof of custody requirements for crypto exchanges,”

CZ confirmed the existence of a global crypto recovery fund on Nov. 14.

To reduce further cascading negative effects of FTX, Binance is forming an industry recovery fund, to help projects who are otherwise strong, but in a liquidity crisis. More details to come soon. In the meantime, please contact Binance Labs if you think you qualify. 1/2

— CZ 🔶 Binance (@cz_binance) November 14, 2022

CZ has noted that “most journalists at Bloomberg are good, but Binance has run into issues with Bloomberg in the past. It filed a lawsuit against the organization in July 2022. CZ claimed that Bloomberg

“will do a nice profile piece on you, invite you for photoshoots, etc. Then switches the story last minute. Ignore all positive comments they got from 3rd parties. Picked only old negatives. And still puts you on the cover.”