CZ distances himself from booming TST token, warns of copyright infringement

Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, the former CEO of Binance, has once again publicly distanced himself from the fast-emerging TST token. CZ and the BNB Chain team denying ownership of the token seems not to have had any effect on its upward trajectory.

However, a website and official Twitter account created for the TST token appear to be using the Binance logo. That’s why CZ took to his X account to clarify that BNB Chain did not have a hand in creating the website or social media accounts.

Translated post of CZ clarifying that Binance did not launch the TST token. Source: @cz_binance (X/Twitter)

CZ distances himself from the TST token

The TST token initially gained mainstream attention in the cryptocurrency community after a BNB chain team member created an educational video to show users how to launch memecoins on the four.meme platform.

The TST token was created as a demonstration asset for the video and was not intended for public trading. However, following the video’s release, the token experienced a massive surge in market capitalization, reaching approximately $41M before stabilizing at about $10M.

The BNB team has deleted the TST tutorial video and CZ clarified that the token was never an official project of Binance or the BNB Chain team.

Lookonchain reported that an early buyer of the TST token is currently sitting on a $2M profit on their investment.

Changpeng Zhao took to X (formerly Twitter) to clarify once more that he has no involvement with the TST token. His post was made in Chinese as the discussions surrounding the token seem to be more prevalent in the Chinese market, where it initially gained popularity.

My impression was that TST was mainly talked about in the Chinese communities. 🙏

I also intent to post in all languages I know in the future. AI translate is pretty easy now for readers.

— CZ 🔶 BNB (@cz_binance) February 8, 2025

CZ’s statement on X followed the discovery that the TST token now has an official website and social media account on X carrying the Binance logo.

“I just heard that TST already has a website and an X account. As far as I know, neither of them is made or controlled by BNB Chain or any Binance-related team. It is controlled by someone in the community. I don’t know who it is,” CZ clarified.

CZ warns about copyright infringement

CZ’s post on X not only distanced him and the Binance team from the token, it also warned the team behind the TST token to stop exploiting the “connection” to Binance and misleading the community. “They used Binance’s logo without authorization. This is an infringement and needs to be changed.”

CZ went further to say that he personally has not invested in the TST token as he does not buy memecoins. “Like all meme coins, I have never bought and do not own TST. Now it is a completely community behavior. Please protect yourself and be responsible for your own actions.”

Community-driven tokens are often organically created and propelled by community hype and enthusiasm. While this decentralized approach can foster innovation, it also poses certain risks to investors and to notable brands in the crypto industry.

These projects sometimes make use of unauthorized branding in order to feign legitimacy and gain trust from investors. An example is the Hackathon G-AI that used Solana’s logo without authorization to feign endorsement.

The same seems to be happening with the newly emerged TST token and Binance.

Source