[Digital Today reporter Yoonseo Lee] Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (자오 창펑), known as CZ, publicly denied rumours that he holds Shiba Inu (SHIB) tokens.

On Oct. 29, blockchain media outlet U.Today reported that Zhao said he does not hold any SHIB in response to claims spreading on social media.

The controversy began with a post by a well-known cryptocurrency content creator. The post asked Zhao to confirm whether a story involving a Shiba Inu dog named Riki was true. It said a Shiba Inu believed to be Zhao's dog adapted to life in Tokyo faster than Zhao and had no need to worry about rent.

Zhao said the story was not true. He said he has never owned a Shiba Inu dog and does not know who or what Riki is. He also said he generally does not respond to these kinds of questions, but there is too much wrong information that needs correcting.

Market reaction was mixed. Some raised the possibility that someone spread false information about Shiba Inu to push up the SHIB token's price. They suspected the link to SHIB may have been exaggerated by using Zhao's name recognition and influence.

The author of the post also said he was not sure the dog story was true. He asked Zhao whether it was true and, if so, to share an anecdote about Riki that was not widely known. After Zhao denied it, the story in the post was ultimately found to be untrue.

The controversy again showed that the name of a well-known figure can be easily tied to a specific token in the cryptocurrency market. Zhao's swift denial made clear that fact-checking should come before price expectations or false signals of endorsement.

@creptosolutions Don't have Shiba Inu, never did. No idea who/what Riki is. I generally won't respond to these types of questions. Too much wrong info to correct.