5ireChain infuriated the co-founder of Binance after being caught red handed leveraging on CZ's fame to gain publicity for the company's projects.
Since then, 5ireChain has removed the original post and republished a clarification statement to explain that everything was just a pure misunderstanding.
The controversial social media post
In a now deleted social media post, 5ireChain shared a picture of both men (5ireChain CEO, Pratik Gauri and Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao) posing for a camera, smiling with their hands behind each other's backs.
The social media post had the caption sneakily write: What's cooking, with a handshake emoji, apparently hinting at a significant behind the scenes development between 5ireChain's CEO Pratik Gauri and Zhao.
Zhao was quick to shut down all the speculations, writing on his post that nothing is cooking. Zhao clarified that both of them just happened to meet at an event by chance, adding that the two did not even have a conversation.
But beyond everything else, CZ sounded infuriated in his social media post that such an innocuous photo was used and leveraged on for free publicity.
CZ wrote
"This is exactly how not to use a selfie with me. Nothing is cooking. Didn't even have a chat. Just a selfie at an event."
What 5ireChain did was also met with harsh criticism from the netizens, who sided with CZ. One user wrote that 5ireChain should focus their attention on building their company instead of using coming out with publicity stunts like this.
One X user wrote:
"Selfies with CZ should not be used as a promotion. Instead, focus on building."
Another said,
"If you are going to make posts like this, then you are already going to be a bad player, in my opinion. Don't abuse opportunities and show respect."
5ireChain paints everything as just a misunderstanding
Soon after CZ's post, the 5ireChain CEO quickly took down the original post and replaced it with a new post, this time with an explanation.
It writes
"This post is not intended to imply a collaboration or partnership between our Founder and CEO Pratik Gauri and CZ. It is purely an appreciation post from our founder to recognize CZ's unparalleled contributions to the blockchain and crypto industry. Truly a legend."
While 5ireChain is trying its best to paint the whole situation as a careless mistake and misunderstanding, but it seems that netizens online are not buying their story. One user replied to 5ireChain's post, saying
"You literally implied something is happening in the background when you say what's cooking. No other way to interpret that."
In a follow-up message, Zhao gave a warning to all the CEO and fans out there and cautioned them against similar situations, writing
"You should be alarmed if a person/project uses a selfie with someone else as promotional material. Posting selfies when I meet someone I like/admire is normal. But I would never use that to promote my project, unless with explicit permission."
CZ's didn't let the little scuffle ruin his mood throughout the event
Despite this bad encounter, it seems that it did not shadow CZ's overall impression and sentiment about the whole event.
On his social media post, CZ wrote about his meaningful conversation with the King of Bhutan and spiritual leader Sadhguru, with a very simple caption
"Inspirational conversation."
Reacting to the post, one X user asked if Zhao had visited the Isha Foundation, the non-profit organisation founded by Sadhguru.
To which Zhao wrote that he hadn't had the chance yet revealed something personal. He mentioned that in 2023, he had donated to the Isha Foundation on behalf of his sister who had been deeply influenced by Sadhguru's teachings.
"I completely forgot about it. I donated because she said the methods taught by sadhguru helped her tremendously."
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