In a preview of his Galaxy Brains interview, Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) gave high praise to Hyperliquid, describing its innovation as “actually awesome.” He also acknowledged that the decentralized exchange is operating in an area where Binance can’t effectively compete.
Shortly after, OKX’s founder and CEO, Star Xu, responded by directly questioning whether Binance’s Changpeng Zhao was being dishonest with the public.
What CZ said about Hyperliquid
In a video posted on X by Alex Thorn of Galaxy Digital, Binance founder CZ admitted that Hyperliquid’s system—which allows trading without permission or identity verification—sets it apart in the world of decentralized perpetual futures.
He believes Binance is at a disadvantage because it allows trading without verifying users’ identities. However, he emphasized he would never run a platform like that, drawing on his past experiences dealing with regulators. He also suggested Hyperliquid likely has strong legal counsel to navigate the associated risks.
In 2023, Changpeng Zhao (CZ) admitted to not having strong enough money laundering controls at Binance and spent four months in prison in 2024 because of it. His recent statements about Hyperliquid seem to be influenced by this experience, as he views their lack of customer verification (KYC) as a potential legal risk he wants to avoid.
Star Xu’s sharp response
As a researcher following this situation, I’ve observed that Star Xu, the founder of OKX, quickly responded to CZ’s statements. In a post on X, Xu directly called out what he saw as hypocrisy, highlighting the Aster DEX as an example of CZ not practicing what he preaches.
According to Xu, the decentralized exchange Aster seems to have closely copied the business model of Hyperliquid, but is operating under a different company name. He also pointed out that Aster shares resources with Binance – including staff – and that Changpeng Zhao (CZ) has publicly supported the project on multiple occasions.
Xu directly asked: given that Aster’s structure, resources, team, and rewards system are so similar, how does it actually differ from something Changpeng Zhao (CZ) said he’d never create?
Xu believes CZ might be using a new, separate company to pursue a business opportunity he’s publicly stated he wouldn’t, possibly to remain legally compliant.
The Aster connection
As an analyst, I’ve been following the connections between Changpeng Zhao – often referred to as CZ – and Aster closely. It’s clear that there’s a significant link: Aster was created in March 2025 by combining APX Finance and Astherus. Importantly, the investment firm YZi Labs – formerly Binance Labs – provided the funding for this merger, establishing a clear financial tie.
CZ has shared that Aster hired people who used to work at Binance, and that YZi Labs owns a small part of the company. He’s stated he’s acting as an advisor helping with products and technology, but isn’t directly involved in day-to-day operations.
After launching, the platform quickly gained popularity, and its ASTER token price soared from $0.08 to over $1 in just one day following its release in September 2025. It reached a high of $2 billion in total value locked, becoming a strong competitor to Hyperliquid in the onchain perpetual futures market.
The bigger picture
This disagreement is happening as the market for decentralized, perpetual futures is rapidly growing. Hyperliquid now controls a record 8.3% of all open interest in these futures, directly challenging established, centralized exchanges. These larger exchanges typically have extensive legal and compliance departments and limit who can trade based on their location.
Star Xu has experience in this area and previously shared that OKX Web3 was developing a decentralized exchange (DEX) similar to Hyperliquid starting in 2023. They decided not to release it publicly because of worries about regulations. Now, he’s questioning why Changpeng Zhao (CZ), the founder of Binance, is highlighting the importance of following rules while also supporting a project that seems to avoid them.
The exchange of posts has not led to a direct response from CZ at the time of writing.
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2026-06-17 09:57