[DigitalToday AI Reporter] Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (창펑 자오) rejected claims that Binance was responsible for last October’s cryptocurrency market plunge, calling them “unrealistic”.

He dismissed the claim in a Q&A session on Binance’s social media platform, and said people who think that way would find it hard to succeed, Cryptopolitan reported on Jan. 31 local time.

At the time, Binance said forced liquidations occurred due to system errors and pricing issues. It paid about $600 million, or about 870 billion won, in compensation to customers and trading firms. Zhao stressed that Binance is under the supervision of Abu Dhabi regulators and that U.S. government officials are also monitoring the platform.

Binance paid $400 million to affected customers after what it called the largest-ever cryptocurrency liquidation incident on Oct. 10 last year. Of that, $300 million was allocated to retail investors and $100 million to institutional clients facing liquidity pressure.

Zhao also said there were “tangible and intangible attacks” targeting him and Binance. He warned that social media accounts with few followers are spreading false information, and that influential figures sometimes join attacks in exchange for money. He added that his view on the possibility of a bitcoin supercycle had changed and that long-term forecasts have become harder as global uncertainty has grown.