During a live Q&A on Binance's social media platform on Friday, Zhao dismissed accusations that the world's largest digital asset platform caused the market downturn as "far-fetched."

Zhao responded to accusations that Binance triggered record liquidations when users encountered technical issues and price discrepancies on the platform. Following the crash, Binance offered approximately $600 million in compensation to affected customers and companies.

"There's a large group of people who claim that Binance caused the October 10th crash and are demanding that Binance compensate them for everything," Zhao said. "If you live in that kind of world in your head, you're unlikely to be successful in the future."

He emphasized that Binance operates as a regulated company in Abu Dhabi, and regulators have access to the company's activities. Zhao also noted that the US government monitors the platform.

Zhao clarified that he acts as a shareholder and user of Binance, not as an executive. He resigned as CEO in November 2023 as part of a plea agreement with US law enforcement after pleading guilty to failing to maintain an effective anti-money laundering program. The agreement required Binance Holdings to hire an independent external monitor to monitor regulatory compliance. In October 2025, Zhao received a pardon from President Donald Trump.

According to Zhao, Binance users who lost money due to the exchange's systemic issues during the October market crash have already received compensation.