Binance Founder CZ Points to Anthropic IPO as One Possible Reason for Crypto Crash

Binance founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao has listed several factors that could be responsible for the crypto crash, including the planned Anthropic IPO this week. He also debunked rumors that Binance was selling and pressuring these crypto assets, though he admitted the recent hack may have dampened sentiment.

CZ Points To Anthropic IPO For Crypto Crash

In an X post, the Binance founder noted that no one could point to a certain reason why crypto prices are down. However, he gave some potential reasons, including the Anthropic IPO, citing how money could be flowing from crypto assets to the public listing that is expected to happen this week.

CZ alluded to a post from Strive CEO Matt Cole, who noted that a similar crypto crash occurred during the SpaceX IPO earlier this year. “Bitcoin fell 19% into the biggest IPO ever. Now it’s down 18% heading into the second biggest,” Cole said in reference to the SpaceX and Anthropic IPOs.

Like the SpaceX IPO, the Anthropic IPO is attracting much demand, which could explain why some crypto investors may be offloading their crypto assets to gain exposure to the firm’s ANT stock, which could list on the Nasdaq this week. As CoinGape reported, the Anthropic IPO seeks to raise up to $90 billion, with shares oversubscribed up to sixfold.

Meanwhile, CZ pointed to the ETF outflows, security fears, including over the Binance hack, and the hot October CPI inflation reading as other potential reasons for the crypto crash. He also listed the political uncertainty as another potential reason, noting “midterm results have raised concerns about potentially stricter U.S. crypto policy.”

“Binance Did Not Sell”

CZ also used the opportunity to debunk rumors that the top crypto exchange may be responsible for the sell pressure driving the crypto crash. “No, Binance did not sell crypto,” he said, adding that he has been buying personally.

He said that he has bought crypto over the past few days as he converted his stablecoins to other crypto assets. Despite the recent crash, the Binance founder remains bullish on the crypto market’s long-term prospects, saying “mid-long term, crypto will continue to grow.”

Bitcoin crashed to as low as $62,500 earlier today but is rebounding, climbing above $64,000, according to TradingView data. The flagship crypto has led the crypto crash, down more than 14% in the last week and down over 20% in the last month.