A tweet by Crypto Twitter influencer Cobie containing an encrypted message caused a sharp decline in Binance’s BNB and Bitcoin’s value, after rumors spread that Interpol had issued a request to detain Binance’s CEO, Changpeng Zhao.
The world of cryptocurrency has been hit by yet another rumor that has caused significant fluctuations in the market. This time it involves Binance’s BNB and Bitcoin, which saw a sharp decline in value after a tweet by popular Crypto Twitter influencer Cobie.
The tweet contained an encrypted message that read “Interpol Red Notice for CZ,” referring to Binance’s CEO, Changpeng Zhao. Although the message was garbled and difficult to decipher, someone managed to crack it, and the rumor quickly spread like wildfire throughout the cryptocurrency community.
The rumor suggested that the international law enforcement agency Interpol had issued a request for CZ’s detainment, which caused panic among investors and traders. The fact that Binance and its CEO had recently been sued by U.S. regulators for “willful evasion” of U.S. laws added fuel to the fire, making the rumor seem plausible to many. As a result, Binance’s exchange token and Bitcoin’s value rapidly dropped, causing alarm among those who had invested in these cryptocurrencies.
Despite the rumor’s widespread impact, Binance and Interpol remained silent on the issue and did not provide any comment or clarification. Meanwhile, Binance’s Chief Strategy Officer, Patrick Hillmann, took to Twitter to express his skepticism about the rumor, saying that either it was “bullsh-t,” or a law enforcement agent had illegally leaked information about the case. He went on to add that his bet was on the former.
Later on, @cobie, the Twitter user who had posted the encrypted message, admitted that they had done so after hearing a rumor. They explained that their intention was to create a record of the information so that they could reveal it later, provided that it came true.
However, @cobie also pointed out that the purpose of the encryption was to ensure that the message could not be read until the secret was revealed. They suspected that someone they had discussed the rumor with had leaked the seed to “create a stir” at their expense, removing the context of the rumor in the process.
In light of the situation, @cobie apologized for posting the message, explaining that it was not supposed to be readable by anyone else until they revealed it. They also expressed their intention to be more cautious about tweeting in the future, citing the negative consequences that had resulted from this particular tweet.