Changpeng Zhao, the creator of Binance, recently dismissed claims that major market participants or large exchanges deliberately manipulate Bitcoin’s price. During an Ask Me Anything session on January 31st, Zhao argued that the sharp market downturn around October 10th was driven by macroeconomic factors—specifically a tariff announcement—rather than exchange malfunctions or coordinated manipulation efforts.
CZ’s Perspective
Zhao also pointed out that neither he nor Binance benefits directly from trading cryptocurrencies. He explained that intentionally influencing Bitcoin’s price would require an enormous amount of capital, which very few entities could risk deploying. Given Bitcoin’s status as a multitrillion-dollar asset class today, sustained manipulation is highly impractical because any attempt to significantly sway the market would expose manipulators to massive financial losses.
Additionally, Zhao underscored Binance’s regulatory compliance and robust monitoring systems. He argued that such oversight makes it nearly impossible for unethical behavior to occur at the exchange level. While acknowledging no technology can guarantee uninterrupted service at all times, he reassured users affected by past outages were duly compensated.
The Liquidity Factor in Bitcoin Markets
Zhao raises valid points; however, the reality is more nuanced. Due to Bitcoin’s deep liquidity and broad adoption globally, long-term manipulation on a worldwide scale remains extremely challenging. In this decentralized and highly competitive environment, no single trader or exchange can control prices indefinitely.
That said, short-term price fluctuations tell another story: leveraged liquidations, concentrated liquidity shifts, and strategic order placements are common tactics used by large investors—including whales and institutional players—to influence immediate price movements.
The structure of Bitcoin markets often involves liquidity sweeps and stop-loss hunting alongside cascades of liquidations when leverage levels are elevated. Although these activities don’t necessarily amount to outright manipulation, they do enable wealthy traders to engineer advantageous entry or exit points in the market.
Recent trends align with this view: after a series of liquidations triggered panic selling pushing Bitcoin down into mid-$70K territory — indicating forced liquidation rather than deliberate control by any single actor. When leverage decreases afterward markets tend to overshoot both upwards and downwards before stabilizing again.