Binance founder Zhao Changpeng has reportedly sued a Hong Kong-listed company that publishes a Bloomberg magazine’s Chinese language edition over defamatory statements.
Binance founder Zhao «CZ» Changpeng has filed a writ at the Hong Kong High Court against Modern Media, according to an «SCMP» report citing the documents, accusing the firm of making defamatory statements in a Chinese language edition of a Bloomberg magazine.
«These statements were defamatory, and were calculated to hold the plaintiff up to hatred, contempt and ridicule,» the writ said. «[These statements tend to] lower the plaintiff in the estimation of right-thinking members of society, and in particular the cryptocurrency community members and his commercial counterparties.»
Modern Media, which was renamed Meta Media in January this year, is a Hong Kong-listed company and the publisher of the Chinese language edition of Bloomberg Businessweek under a licensing agreement with the US media giant since June 2013.
«Ponzi Scheme»
The writ’s claims are based on a July 6 cover story with a portrait of Zhao and the headline «Zhao Changpeng’s Ponzi scheme» published in hard copy and online. A Bloomberg spokesperson clarified that the lawsuit refers to a headline not published in the original English article on June 23 titled «Can Crypto’s Richest Man Stand the Cold?».
As part of the legal pursuit, Zhao is seeking an injunction that restrains Modern Media from republishing the statements, an apology directed to himself, a public retraction of the statements and unspecified damages.
Media Involvement
This would not mark the first time that Zhao has been involved with a major media company over alleged misstatements against possibly the most scrutinized crypto firm in the world.
In 2020, Binance sued Forbes Global Media after it published an article describing a plan to bypass US regulations but the lawsuit was voluntarily withdrawn in 2021. Separately, Binance is hoping to make a minority investment in Forbes after a plan to buy the magazine via a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) was shelved in late May.
