Binance founder and former CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) has spoken to his followers on X following the listing of TST on the exchange on Sunday.

He clarified that while he does not oppose meme coins, he has never personally invested in them.

CZ Explains His Views on Meme Coins

Addressing concerns about his views, CZ explained in a February 9 post on X:

“Is CZ against meme coins? No. Not ‘into’ something doesn’t mean I am against it.”

He went on to point out that he had no interest in sports cars, nor did he collect art or buy NFTs, but he had nothing against them. The former exchange executive also highlighted that he has made significant efforts to support altcoins and the broader crypto industry, adding that he holds the same perspective on meme coins.

As the asset class continues to gain popularity, some speculated that CZ might be shifting his focus away from crypto’s core principles. However, he dismissed these concerns, stating, “I’m a builder. I always focus on fundamentals.”

TST, a test coin created for a tutorial on the Four.Meme platform, was recently turned into a tradable meme coin after catching the attention of Chinese crypto influencers who helped push its market cap into the millions. In response to its rapid rise, CZ posted online to clarify that neither he nor Binance had officially endorsed the token.

Despite his explanation, interest in TST only continued to grow. “Every clarification post just made it more viral for whatever reason,” Zhao joked in his latest update.

Binance later listed the token, which is currently trading around the $0.195 level, a nearly 60% drop in the last 24 hours. Interestingly, CZ noted that the exchanges management, which he is no longer a part of, did not consult him before listing the test token.

Popularity and Market Speculation

The crypto entrepreneur also shared his views on why traders tend to invest in meme coins rather than utility tokens. He explained that over the past four years, regulators had taken legal action against nearly every utility token project by falsely labeling them as securities. As a result, many players in the sector turned to other alternatives.

The 48-year-old further spoke on speculative traders. He noted that such actors prefer assets such as meme tokens that are easier to trade. This is due to the fact that those with clear and tangible value are harder to make predictions on since their prices more often than not, remain stable.

In his opinion, such investments may attract little trading activity, resulting in lower liquidity and shorter order books. The post concluded with Zhao stressing the need to build things that people want:

“Memes are fun, etc. It’s a cultural thing. I am not an expert in this area. There are plenty of die-hard defenders of memes. Don’t go against the community.”