The rumor came from the Twitter account “Cobie”, a well-known KOL in the crypto community. Specifically, this account rumored that Changpeng Zhao, CEO of Binance, has received a Red Notice from Interpol. The rumor was originally posted in a SHA256 encrypted tweet, which when decoded read: “Interpol red notice for CZ.”
SHA256 is a type of one-way encryption that only allows users to use a hash function to encrypt the message they want to conceal into a jumbled sequence of letters and numbers.
A Red Notice serves as a global request to law enforcement agencies to locate and temporarily detain an individual until they can be extradited, surrendered, or subjected to similar legal action. This request is based on a court order or arrest warrant issued by the requesting nation’s judicial authorities. Each member country applies their own laws to determine whether or not to arrest the individual in question.
The rumor was then spread more widely by a hyuktrades Twitter account.
However, Interpol’s website has not listed a public Red Notice for Changpeng Zhao from March 3 – the date the rumor was spread.
Cobie after the incident said that this is just a prediction, it will be published when it happens. The KOL said that an acquaintance of his had revealed the message, leading to a wave of rumors.
A spokesperson for Binance later also stated that there is no such thing as CEO Changpeng Zhao being wanted by Interpol. CZ also posted a series of posts on his personal Twitter account, calling this FUD.
FUD, or “fear, uncertainty and doubt,” is a common term used in the crypto community to refer to rumors and misinformation that can cause panic and lead to market volatility.
BTC price at the dawn of April 4 dumped from $ 28,000 to $27,200, while Binance’s BNB coin plunged to $299. At press time, BNB’s price recovered to $308 with a slight decline of 0.9% over the past 24 hours.
