Binance founder Changpeng Zhao has publicly denied rumors that he was secretly backing meme coins on BNB Chain, explaining that recent large transfers from his wallet were merely a routine technical cleanup. The clarification came after on-chain researchers spotted a series of significant transactions, including a transfer of 400 million third-party tokens worth $1.6 million to a burn address.
The Spam Token Problem
Zhao stated on X that he was simply getting rid of digital garbage. For years, creators of third-party projects had been sending spam tokens to his address to gain free publicity, causing the wallet interface to malfunction. This tactic, known as "dusting," is a classic marketing trick aimed at well-known public wallets. A similar incident occurred in 2021 when Shiba Inu (SHIB) creators sent half of the token's total supply to Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin without his consent, prompting Buterin to burn 90% of the tokens and publicly condemn the practice.
A History of Cleanups
On-chain data from Arkham reveals that Zhao's wallet has been targeted with spam for years, and he regularly conducts cleanups. About eight months ago, he destroyed batches of tokens worth $43,490, $142,500, and $305,870 in three separate transactions. A year ago, an even more aggressive cleanup saw four large transfers sending assets worth $358,220, $1.95 million, $546,900, and $1.1 million into a burn address. In total, Zhao has manually destroyed over $6.24 million worth of third-party spam tokens in the past year.
"Sending it to my address might as well send it straight into a black hole — it reduces one step of operation, making it more direct and effective," Zhao emphasized. The latest burn, worth $1.6 million, is part of this ongoing effort to maintain his wallet's functionality and prevent market manipulation rumors.