Binance founder addresses speculation about Dubai event
Changpeng ‘CZ’ Zhao has directly responded to gossip circulating in Chinese crypto communities about a supposed romantic connection with influencer Tintin. The rumors apparently started after their brief interaction during the Binance Blockchain Week debate in Dubai earlier this month.
CZ seemed somewhat amused by the whole situation. He posted on X that the market must be slow if people have time for such speculation. His explanation was straightforward: they exchanged three messages total and spoke for about ten minutes before the debate. That was it.
The actual context of the interaction
The moment that sparked the rumors happened during CZ’s debate with gold advocate Peter Schiff. Tintin, who’s connected to the Aster project, walked onstage and handed CZ what she called a ‘magic box’ containing a heavy gold item. The video clip became the most replayed part of the debate on YouTube.
CZ clarified that having someone hand him the box was a last-minute decision. He met with several influencers before the debate, including Tintin, and thought it would work better visually if someone handed him the item rather than him just picking it up. There was no pre-arranged plan or special significance to her being the one to do it.
Timing with leadership changes
What makes the timing somewhat awkward is that these rumors emerged just after Yi He, CZ’s long-term partner and mother of his three children, was promoted to co-CEO of Binance on December 3rd. The leadership change was announced at the same Dubai event where the debate took place.
Yi He has been clear about separating her personal and professional lives. She told reporters in Dubai that her personal life is independent from her work, and she feels her professional achievements often get overshadowed by questions about her personal relationships.
Meanwhile, business continues
While the gossip mill churns, CZ has been focused on Binance’s expansion. He recently visited Pakistan with Binance CEO Richard Teng and Tron founder Justin Sun. They met with Pakistan’s Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, and the timing was significant.
Pakistan’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority issued no-objection certificates to both Binance and HTX during their visit. This clears the way for the exchanges to pursue full licensing in the country. Teng called it a meaningful milestone for Binance in Pakistan.
CZ has served as an advisor to the Pakistan Crypto Council since April 2024, and Pakistan seems interested in becoming more crypto-friendly in the region. During the trip, CZ even had a practical crypto moment—his roaming didn’t work, so he borrowed Justin Sun’s hotspot, bought an eSIM, and paid for it with cryptocurrency.
As for the romance rumors, CZ ended his post with a bit of sarcasm, suggesting people should focus on other gossip instead. He wrote, ‘Go pay attention to someone else. I heard somebody and somebody…’ with a laughing emoji. It seems he’s already moved on from the speculation, even if some in the crypto community haven’t.
