Binance’s CZ Unfollows 300 Accounts, Exposing Account Trading and a Distorted Attention Economy
Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) recently unfollowed over 300 X (formerly Twitter) accounts within two months, triggering a debate on the distorted crypto attention economy. Data from RootData shows that on November 8–9, CZ removed follow status from active BNB Chain projects like BakerySwap and ReachMe. CZ explained this was a cleanup of inactive profiles and warned against buying ‘CZ-followed’ accounts, pledging immediate unfollows if such sales are detected.
Traders report individual CZ-followed accounts traded for up to $80,000 during the bull market, with typical deals ranging from $2,000 to $20,000. A notorious case involves the Oracle project, whose team allegedly acquired and rebranded a CZ-followed account to pump token sales before disappearing with investor funds.
This episode highlights systemic problems: small projects struggle for legitimate exposure, leading to extreme marketing tactics and turning social media “backing” into hard currency. The industry’s attention deficit underscores the need for robust data-driven evaluation and a return to product quality over short-term FOMO.
Neutral
The news centers on social media dynamics and marketing practices rather than direct market fundamentals or token issuance. CZ’s unfollow spree exposes the trading of his follower status but does not immediately affect Binance’s operations or BNB’s liquidity. Similar past events—like high-profile Twitter cleanup actions—have clarified questionable practices without triggering significant price moves. In the short term, traders may remain watchful of project marketing risks, but long-term market behavior will hinge on protocol developments and on-chain metrics rather than attention transactions. Thus, the impact is assessed as neutral.