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The long-standing rivalry between OKX CEO Star Xu and Binance founder Changpeng Zhao has escalated to a new level amid global regulatory changes. While Binance is scaling back its activities in Europe in preparation for the MiCA regulation coming into effect, OKX is aggressively expanding its presence in the region, poaching clients. But behind this market struggle lies years of personal animosity, with roots dating back to 2014.

Origins of the Conflict

Star Xu founded the platform OKCoin, which later transformed into the crypto exchange OKX. In 2014, Changpeng Zhao took the position of CTO at OKCoin, but he did not stay long — by early 2015, he left the team to later found his own empire, Binance.

His departure was accompanied by a major scandal involving a partnership agreement for the Bitcoin.com domain. Zhao helped facilitate this contract between OKCoin and prominent Bitcoin investor Roger Ver. Later, representatives of OKCoin claimed that a clause regarding a six-month termination period, which was not in the original version, was secretly added to the updated document. The company's management directly accused Zhao of falsifying the data. The executive himself explained the irregularities in the documents as a hack of his personal profile.

Ultimately, Roger Ver initiated legal proceedings against OKCoin's Hong Kong division, demanding approximately $570,000. In the fall of 2016, the court fully upheld the investor's claims, ordering the company to pay compensation, as OKCoin representatives ignored court notices and failed to provide an official response.

A New Round of Hostility in 2026

A new wave of mutual recriminations arose in the spring of 2026 following the release of Changpeng Zhao's autobiographical book titled "Freedom of Money." Star Xu immediately reacted to the publication, calling his opponent a "pathological liar." The OKX head categorically denied many facts from these memoirs.

For example, Zhao claimed that Huobi exchange founder Leon Li suspected Xu of betrayal and that it was due to Xu's complaint that Chinese special services arrested Li in late 2020. The OKX head called such statements "vile slander," emphasizing that he never cooperated with the investigation against colleagues.

During the ensuing discussion, Changpeng Zhao proposed a bet to his rival for the impressive sum of $1 billion. The subject of the dispute was the official marital status of the Binance founder. Star Xu promptly rejected this proposal, noting that such gambling harms the reputation of the head of a regulated financial organization. Instead, Xu proposed conducting an open audit of Binance's ownership structure to verify whether Zhao's ex-wife's share in the business was legally allocated. He cited the civilized divorce proceedings of Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates as a correct example.

In the summer of 2026, the OKX head shifted his criticism to issues of legal compliance. Xu openly accused his competitor of exploiting loopholes in international law, reminding investors of Binance's severe conflict with the UK's FCA in 2022. According to Xu, the competing platform regularly violates rules and deceives users. The OKX head attributed Binance's high trading volumes to dubious operations, believing this liquidity is fueled by money laundering, sanctions evasion, and price manipulation.

That is precisely why, amid Binance's withdrawal from the European market, OKX does not miss an opportunity to needle its long-time competitor.

Analytical Commentary from Cryptalist: This conflict is a classic example of how the personal grievances of founders shape the market strategy of entire companies. Binance's exit from Europe is not just a regulatory decision but an opportunity for OKX to strike at a competitor's reputation, using its own history against it. However, it is worth remembering that such public squabbles can harm not only the participants but also trust in the industry as a whole. Investors should focus on the fundamental metrics of exchanges, not the emotional bickering of their leaders.