The world's leading crypto exchanges are caught in a tense showdown, as media allegations about political influence and covert attack campaigns have sparked waves of suspicion, fueling speculation in the investment community.
On July 13, tensions between Coinbase and Binance escalated when the media cited sources alleging that Coinbase had provided information for a Bloomberg investigation targeting Binance. This investigation revolves around Binance backing the World Liberty Financial project—allegedly linked to President Donald Trump—along with the stablecoin USD1.
Immediately, Coinbase's legal director, Paul Grewal, spoke out to deny on platform X:
"Sorry, this is completely misleading information. We absolutely do not participate in this story. Coinbase does not attack its competitors, and we welcome anyone with the same goal of expanding the crypto market."
However, the online community is still buzzing with speculation that Coinbase itself is the anonymous source, aiming to harm Binance's reputation in the US market.
On the Binance side, founder and former CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) also strongly denied the allegations in Bloomberg's article. He wrote:
"It's just FUD. Bloomberg wrote another attack piece (possibly funded by a competitor), so distorted that I don't even know where to start my response. Perhaps I will have to sue them again for defamation."
Bloomberg reported that Binance's wallet holds over 2 billion USD in USD1, while accusing CZ of seeking a pardon from President Trump. However, the article did not provide any direct evidence that Coinbase was the source of the information.
Some prominent figures online have also expressed sharp opinions. Ian Miles Cheong's account wrote:
"Bloomberg is despicable. I bet that competitors like Coinbase are behind this. Higher fees, worse platform. They are trying to undermine Binance by associating it with Trump. What terrible journalism this is."
Meanwhile, the Wall Street Mav account commented:
"Binance is the largest exchange in the world. They support many projects from the early stages. The media is trying to turn this into a scandal just to attack Trump."
The fierce rebuttal from both Coinbase and Binance shows the increasing reputational risk in the context of the crypto market being deeply politicized. Coinbase is defending its transparent image, while Binance is still trying to restore its reputation after a series of agreements with regulators. This story not only highlights the fierce competition between exchanges but also serves as evidence that the 'game' of crypto is now taking place on both the media and political fronts.