CZ says CEXs have ‘zero motive’ to aid terrorists as court dismisses terrorism suit

A US federal judge dismissed a lawsuit accusing Binance, Changpeng Zhao and Binance.US of helping terrorist groups move crypto funds.

Former Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao said centralized crypto exchanges have “zero motive” to assist terrorists after a US court dismissed a lawsuit accusing the exchange of facilitating terrorist financing.

In a post on X, Zhao argued that the economics of crypto trading make such activity illogical for exchanges. “There are absolutely zero (0) motive [sic] for any CEX to have anything to do with terrorists,” Zhao wrote, adding that such actors are unlikely to generate trading revenue and may only deposit funds briefly before withdrawing them.

The comments followed a ruling by the US District Court for the Southern District of New York that dismissed claims brought by hundreds of victims and relatives of victims of terrorist attacks. The lawsuit alleged that Binance, Zhao and Binance.US operator BAM Trading Services helped terrorist groups move funds through cryptocurrency transactions.

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