CZ: Binance Leads Major Stablecoins, Not Just USD1
Binance customers maintain about 87% of USD1, the Trump-linked stablecoin, based on a Forbes report revealed on February 9, 2026, placing a lot of the token’s circulating provide on a single change.
The focus has drawn criticism on-line, however Binance founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao says the figures mirror person demand throughout stablecoins reasonably than particular remedy tied to politics.
Exchange Dominance Draws Focus
The Forbes report found that Binance controls roughly $4.7 billion of the $5.4 billion USD1 provide, based mostly on Arkham Intelligence information. That is the next share than any single change holds of different top-10 stablecoins, with Forbes noting that the holdings embody each Binance-controlled wallets and buyer balances, although it stays unclear how a lot belongs to the change itself.
World Liberty Financial, a crypto enterprise backed by a number of members of President Donald Trump’s household, launched the token in March 2025, with CZ among the many first to publicly share the information.
Trump can be listed as co-founder emeritus, and a number of other entities affiliated with him are entitled to a big share of proceeds from the undertaking’s governance token, WLFI.
The custody focus drew criticism from impartial researcher Molly White, who advised Forbes it creates “theoretical threat” if property turn out to be tied up in authorized or operational disputes. Corey Frayer, a former adviser to the SEC chair, went additional, questioning whether or not USD1 was designed to perform as a broad stablecoin in any respect.
However, Zhao responded on social media, writing,
“Binance (customers) maintain the most important % of most stablecoins (USDT, USDC, USD1, U … you title it) in comparison with all different CEXs. Not information.”
The backlash across the token sits inside wider scrutiny of Zhao and Binance. The former CEO received a presidential pardon in October 2025 after pleading responsible in 2023 to compliance failures tied to anti-money laundering controls.
His legal professional said in a November 2025 interview that the case was regulatory in nature and rejected claims of political favors.
A Pattern of FUD and Market Reality
The dialogue can be occurring amid what CZ and Binance executives are describing as a coordinated marketing campaign of concern, uncertainty, and doubt (FUD).
Earlier within the month, Zhao exposed a faux social media account with 863,000 followers that used AI-generated photos of him to first pose as a supporter after which unfold unfavorable sentiment. Furthermore, a separate AI evaluation report alleged a “intentionally organized and coordinated smear marketing campaign” in opposition to the change.
Market information suggests Binance’s dominance extends far past one stablecoin, particularly contemplating {that a} CryptoQuant report from January showed Binance captured 41% of spot buying and selling quantity and 42% of Bitcoin perpetual futures quantity amongst prime exchanges in 2025.
According to the report, the change additionally held 72% of the mixed USDT and USDC reserves on main platforms, a context that helps Zhao’s argument that enormous person holdings on the change are typical.
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