Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, founder and former CEO of Binance, highlighted the risks associated with weak recovery and two-factor authentication on social platforms. He urged users to report any posts from his account requesting money.
“Social platforms have weak security,” said Zhao. “WeChat recovery just need friends to send a code, risky if you add contacts often. Twitter lacked hardware 2FA until Elon took over. If “I” post crypto CAs or request money, please report my account immediately.”
According to a December 11 post on X, Zhao warned that account-recovery shortcuts and weaker authentication controls can facilitate impersonation. He advised followers to treat any wallet-address posts or money requests from his account as suspicious and report them immediately. X offers a dedicated process for reporting accounts that impersonate others.
Binance describes its Secure Asset Fund for Users (SAFU) as an emergency fund established in July 2018. The fund is capitalized by allocating a portion of trading fees to enhance user protection during incidents. The holdings and value of the fund may fluctuate based on market prices and portfolio composition, playing a crucial role in Binance’s user-safety messaging regarding platform and account security.
X, formerly known as Twitter, announced in early 2023 that it would discontinue SMS-based two-factor authentication for unsubscribed accounts. It encouraged users to switch to authenticator apps or security keys, which are considered stronger than SMS because they reduce exposure to SIM-swap attacks and other phone-number takeover methods. This aligns with Zhao’s broader warning about platform-level authentication choices.
Zhao founded Binance in 2017 and led it through rapid global growth before stepping down as CEO. Binance has since become the largest cryptocurrency exchange by daily trading volume.
