Crypto CEOs Throw Shade: Was Binance’s USDe the Real Villain?

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Well, well, well. Looks like the crypto world has found its latest soap opera, and this time it’s starring OKX CEO Star Xu and Binance’s USDe in a blockbuster titled “The Great Depegging Disaster of October 10.”

According to Xu, Binance’s marketing of Ethena’s USDe synthetic dollar was less of a campaign and more of a financial weapon of mass destruction, allegedly wiping out a cool $19 billion from the crypto markets. Because, you know, nothing says “trustless finance” like blaming your competitor for a market crash.

OKX CEO Calls Binance’s USDe Marketing ‘Irresponsible’-Shocker, I Know

In a January 31 post on X (formerly Twitter, because why not add more confusion to the mix?), Xu declared that the crash wasn’t some random act of financial chaos but a “foreseeable failure of risk management.” Essentially, he’s saying Binance threw a party, everyone got too drunk on leverage, and now the neighbors are complaining about the noise.

“No complexity. No accident. 10/10 was caused by irresponsible marketing campaigns by certain companies,” he stated, presumably while sipping a cup of schadenfreude.

Xu claims Binance’s 12% annual yield on USDe was like offering free candy to kids-except the candy was leverage, and the kids were crypto traders. This, he argues, created a “leveraged loop” where traders turned stablecoins into USDe faster than you can say “Ponzi scheme.”

“This campaign allowed users to leverage USDe as collateral with the same treatment as USDT and USDC without effective limits,” Xu wrote, probably while shaking his head in disappointment.

And let’s not forget USDe’s delta-neutral hedging strategy, which Xu describes as carrying “hedge-fund-level structural risks.” Because nothing says “stable” like a hedge fund on a caffeine bender.

When volatility struck on October 10, Xu says, the leverage unwound like a cheap party streamer, causing USDe to depeg and triggering a liquidation cascade that made Jenga look stable. Tokens traded at near-zero levels, and USDe’s “artificial” stability turned out to be about as reliable as a weather forecast in the UK.

“As the largest global platform, Binance has outsized influence-and corresponding responsibility-as an industry leader. Long-term trust in crypto cannot be built on short-term yield games, excessive leverage, or marketing practices that obscure risk,” Xu concluded, probably while adjusting his moral high ground hat.

Binance and Ethena Fire Back: “Not Our Fault, Mate”

Of course, Binance and Ethena weren’t about to take this lying down. Haseeb Qureshi, managing partner at Dragonfly, pointed out that Bitcoin’s price bottomed 30 minutes before USDe’s depeg, effectively calling Xu’s theory a plot hole bigger than the one in Lost.

“USDe clearly can’t have caused the liquidation cascade,” Qureshi stated, adding, “Nice try, though.”

Ethena Labs founder Guy Young also chimed in, citing order-book data that showed USDe’s price discrepancy happened after the market crashed. Because, you know, correlation doesn’t equal causation-unless you’re in a crypto blame game.

“We want simple explanations and scapegoats but unfortunately this is just factually incorrect. Data below shows clearly USDe had a price discrepancy on Binance orderbooks a full 30 minutes after BTC had bottomed from the crash,” Young tweeted, probably while facepalming.

Binance, meanwhile, blamed a “liquidity vacuum” for the chaos, releasing data showing Bitcoin liquidity was “zero or near zero” during the crash. Because apparently, when the market sneezes, everyone runs out of tissues.

The exchange also denied any systemic manipulation, claiming market makers pulled inventory due to volatility and API latency. Because nothing says “we’re innocent” like blaming the tech.

So, there you have it. Another day in the crypto circus, where CEOs throw shade, traders lose billions, and the only thing that’s stable is the instability. Stay tuned for the next episode, where someone probably blames a meme coin for global warming.

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2026-01-31 18:46