CZ’s “Freedom of Money” Book Revives China’s Ugliest Crypto Feud

Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) launched his 457-page memoir “Freedom of Money” on April 8. The book has already triggered a public war of words with OKX founder Star Xu.

The autobiography covers CZ’s journey from rural China to building the world’s largest crypto exchange. However, its most explosive claims involve fellow Chinese crypto titans, including Huobi founder Li Lin and Tron (TRX) founder Justin Sun.

The Roots of a Decade-Old Rivalry

CZ joined OKCoin, the predecessor of the OKX exchange, as Chief Technology Officer in mid-2014. His tenure lasted less than a year.

According to the memoir, CZ left in early 2015 after Star Xu attempted to renegotiate the 10% equity stake CZ held in the company.

The departure was not clean. A bitter contract dispute erupted shortly after, centered on the management of the Bitcoin.com domain name.

CZ had brokered a deal between OKCoin and early Bitcoin (BTC) investor Roger Ver. Ver entrusted the domain’s operation to the exchange in return for monthly payments.

Two versions of the contract existed. Ver and CZ both claimed OKCoin had forged a modified version adding a six-month termination clause. Xu blamed CZ for the forgery.

That 2015 feud drew in Ver, who sued OKCoin for $570,000. It also saw CZ publicly accuse OKCoin of inflating trade volumes with bots and manipulating a proof-of-reserves audit.

Xu fired back by questioning CZ’s credentials and accusing him of deceit. The dispute eventually faded, but neither side forgot.

From Old Grudges to New Allegations

In “Freedom of Money,” CZ revisits the 2020 Chinese regulatory crackdown that shook the country’s crypto industry.

He describes OKCoin announcing an indefinite suspension of withdrawals on October 16, 2020. Star Xu was reportedly placed under “soft detention” by Chinese police. Xu was released after about five weeks.

Two days after Xu’s release, Huobi founder Li Lin and other executives were detained during a public event on November 28, 2020.

Li Lin endured roughly 90 days of soft detention. He eventually exited the industry and sold Huobi to Justin Sun’s investment vehicle, About Capital Management, in October 2022.

That deal, reportedly valued at around $1 billion, later became a source of conflict between Sun and Li.

Sun accused Li of concealing a $30 million shortfall during due diligence. Li, in turn, sued over trademark rights. Sun has since rebranded the exchange as HTX.

The most incendiary claim in CZ’s book involves what allegedly happened years later.

CZ writes that at a 2025 dinner, Li Lin told him he had seen a screenshot showing that Star Xu had personally reported him to the Chinese police. That report, CZ claims, triggered Li Lin’s arrest.

“Five years later, at a dinner in 2025, I met Li Lin again after 11 years. Li Lin told me that he had seen a screenshot showing Xu Mingxing personally reporting him to the Chinese police, and it was this report that led to his arrest.”

Star Xu Hits Back

Xu responded, calling the snitching allegation absurd, and dismissed CZ as someone whose nature does not change after four months in prison. CZ served time in a U.S. federal facility after pleading guilty to anti-money laundering violations in 2023. He paid a $150 million personal fine while Binance paid $4.3 billion.

“After spending four months in prison, he continues to make false statements to the world. All I can say is: a habitual liar never changes their nature,” he stated.

Xu did not stop at denial. He pivoted to the old OKCoin contract dispute, resurfacing a YouTube video and QQ chat logs from December 2014.

The evidence, he argued, still proves CZ sent two versions of the Ver contract to an OKCoin accountant. Version 7 arrived first. A modified version 8 followed hours later with the added termination clause.

Beyond the contract dispute, Xu listed other claims he considers false. These included:

• CZ’s account of his time at OKCoin
• The Roger Ver dispute
• Whether CZ personally manipulated the market, and even
• CZ’s marital status.

Xu also implied that CZ acted as a “tainted witness” who reported Justin Sun during a separate investigation.

CZ has not directly responded to Xu’s posts.

What This Feud Reveals About China’s Crypto Founders

The exchange of accusations spotlights how personal rivalries between China’s original crypto exchange founders still shape public narratives.

CZ, Star Xu, Li Lin, and Justin Sun built four of the most influential platforms in the industry. All of them navigated Beijing’s crackdowns, founder detentions, and forced offshore pivots between 2017 and 2022.

• Li Lin quietly exited after selling Huobi.
• Justin Sun became the controversial steward of its successor, HTX, while facing his own U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charges for alleged securities fraud.
• CZ served his sentence and now positions himself as a thought leader through education initiatives.
• Xu continues to lead OKX, which remains one of the top global exchanges by volume.

None of the central claims in this feud has been independently verified. The screenshot CZ attributes to Li Lin has not been made public.

The 2014 contract evidence remains contested after more than a decade.

What is clear is that “Freedom of Money” has turned a new page on old wounds that China’s crypto class would rather keep closed.