CZ Says Buy-and-Hold Isn’t for Every Token After Trader Backlash

Former Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao has defended his long-standing buy-and-hold stance after critics accused him of misleading retail traders and promoting harmful market behavior. The advice has ignited a fierce debate, showing how the crypto entrepreneur’s words still move sentiment and attract scrutiny, even without a formal role at Binance. Buy-and-Hold Remarks Spark Backlash and Clarifications Zhao’s latest comments followed an earlier January 25 post where he said few trading strategies beat buy-and-hold and added that it is his own approach, while stressing it was not financial advice. The message drew pushback from users who argued that blanket buy-and-hold messaging ignores the high failure rate of crypto projects. The Binance co-founder followed this on January 28 with clarifications, noting that the advice “obviously does not apply to every coin” and suggesting his comments were being twisted by fear, uncertainty, and doubt. He also compared crypto to earlier tech cycles, where most startups failed while a small number delivered large gains. “If you ‘buy and hold’ all crypto ever created, you know how your portfolio will perform,” CZ said, arguing that selection matters and that investors should research projects rather than buying everything listed on an exchange. Furthermore, the 48-year-old pushed back against claims that exchanges should only list assets with near-certain success. Responding to a Chinese-language post, he asked whether Nasdaq should have listed only the top internet companies in 1990, noting that future winners were impossible to predict at the time. He added that giving early-stage projects a chance does not mean investors must buy them. Old Allegations Return as Supporters and Critics Clash The debate widened as long-running accusations against Zhao resurfaced. Recently, trader StrongHedge called CZ “crypto’s biggest scammer” in a lengthy thread on X, repeating claims about past market manipulation, token listings, and Zhao’s ...