- Changpeng Zhao is pushing to dismiss FTX’s $1.8B lawsuit, arguing U.S. courts haven’t any jurisdiction because the deal occurred offshore.
- FTX claims CZ’s tweets triggered its collapse—his attorneys say the alternate was already a fraud earlier than he stated a phrase.
- Binance and two former execs additionally filed motions to dismiss, calling the lawsuit legally weak and blaming FTX’s personal misconduct.
Former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao isn’t backing down. He’s formally requested a Delaware chapter court docket to toss out FTX’s $1.8 billion lawsuit towards him and Binance, calling all of it… principally nonsense. The core of his argument? He lives within the UAE, the transactions occurred offshore, and—plainly put—American legal guidelines don’t attain that far.
The lawsuit, filed by FTX’s new authorized staff (aka the oldsters making an attempt to scrub up SBF’s mess), claims that Zhao and Binance acquired misused buyer funds as a part of a 2021 share buyback deal. However CZ’s attorneys argue he was only a “nominal counterparty”—he didn’t really management or obtain any of the crypto in query.
Offshore Deal, Offshore Jurisdiction
Zhao’s staff laid it out clearly: each a part of the transaction occurred exterior the U.S. The Binance entities? Based mostly in Eire, the Cayman Islands, and the BVI. The FTX-side? Alameda Ltd—additionally registered within the British Virgin Islands. Even the property concerned have been digital: BUSD and FTT tokens, not USD.
His attorneys say the U.S. court docket simply doesn’t have the attain to use its legal guidelines right here. “This isn’t Delaware’s downside,” they kind of argue. And since Zhao wasn’t the one transferring or receiving funds immediately, they imagine he shouldn’t be pulled into the mess Bankman-Fried left behind.
Social Media Drama Enters the Courtroom
FTX additionally claims Zhao stirred the pot on objective—utilizing X (previously Twitter) to spark panic and set off a financial institution run. Bear in mind when CoinDesk dropped that bombshell report about FTX’s sketchy steadiness sheet? CZ adopted it up with a tweet saying Binance was offloading all its FTT holdings. Not nice timing for FTX.
Then got here the transient announcement that Binance would possibly purchase FTX… which, as we all know, fell aside after due diligence. FTX now claims these posts helped tank their platform.
However Zhao’s camp says no manner. They’re framing him extra like a whistleblower than a saboteur—mentioning that FTX was already “a fraudulent enterprise” lengthy earlier than these tweets. His authorized staff says blaming CZ is like blaming somebody for yelling “fireplace” in a burning constructing—after another person lit the match.
Binance & Execs Push Again Too
CZ’s not the one one preventing the case. Two different ex-Binance execs—Samuel Lim and Dinghua Xiao—filed their very own dismissal motions in July. Binance itself tried to get the entire thing thrown out again in Could, saying FTX’s authorized claims have been “legally poor” and rooted in company fraud, not something Binance did.
For context, each Zhao and Sam Bankman-Fried have already confronted prison prices. CZ pleaded responsible to cash laundering violations and served 4 months. SBF? He’s serving 25 years after being convicted of fraud and conspiracy. He’s interesting, with a listening to set for November 2025.