Binance Holdings co-founder Chao Changpeng at the Bitcoin Asia Conference in Hong Kong, China, Thursday, August 27, 2026.
Zhang Long Hei | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Changpeng Zhao, co-founder and former CEO Binanceurged Elon Musk not to “troll” the company on Friday and instead “show some support” in its place. space x The CEO appeared to mock the struggling cryptocurrency exchange in a series of social media posts.
After learning that the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange had suffered a $6.3 billion hack late Thursday, Musk posted several emojis on X, ranging from laughing to grimacing.
In response, Mr. Zhao alerted SpaceX, tesla CEO of Binance’s stake in Musk’s business.
Binance’s SpaceX stock comes from a previous investment in Twitter, which was valued at more than $1 billion at the time, Zhao said.
This is just a fraction of SpaceX’s roughly $2 trillion valuation.
“Elon, I have so much respect for you, but this is a bad time to troll. Please stop,” Chao wrote. “Our SPCX stock (from our $500 million investment in your Twitter acquisition) is worth over $1 billion. We would appreciate any support you can give us. Thank you!”
This isn’t the first time the two have sparred online.
In November 2021, Binance suspended Dogecoin withdrawals due to a wallet glitch, a move Musk called “shady.” In response, Zhao highlighted that Tesla is conducting a large-scale recall of approximately 12,000 U.S. vehicles due to software glitches and hardware issues.
Binance froze all withdrawals and deposits after the hack, which investigators suspect was the work of North Korean state-backed hacking squad Trader Traitor. Deposits have since recovered.
Approximately $3 billion in virtual currency assets have been frozen so far.
Correction: Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao called on Elon Musk to “show some support.” A previous headline mischaracterized this interaction.
