In a market still nursing its wounds from a $20 billion liquidation event, rumors of a legal battle between two of crypto’s biggest players—market maker Wintermute and exchange giant Binance—stoked fears of further contagion. However, Wintermute CEO Evgeny Gaevoy moved decisively on Monday to quash the speculation, issuing a blunt and public denial of any plans to sue Binance over losses from the Oct. 10 market crash.
Gaevoy: ‘We Never Had Plans to Sue’
The rumors, which had been circulating on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), suggested that Wintermute was preparing a major lawsuit to seek reimbursement for losses. But Gaevoy himself stepped in to set the record straight.
“We never had plans to sue Binance, nor see any reason to do it in future,” Gaevoy posted to X on Monday. He expressed frustration with the rumor mill, adding, “I should probably ask to make a note of all the people spreading baseless rumors, but most of people believing these have goldfish memory capacity, so I wont.”
When one X user, “WhalePump Reborn,” posted a detailed claim that Wintermute was seeking specific amounts and that “Binance completely disagrees,” Gaevoy responded even more bluntly: “What a larp, all complete bullshit.”
Anatomy of the Rumor: The Oct. 10 Crash
The speculation, while false, was rooted in the very real chaos of Oct. 10. That day, the crypto market was sent into a tailspin following a tariff announcement from U.S. President Donald Trump. This caught the market by storm, triggering a sizable sell-off. Bitcoin dropped roughly $121,560 to just under $103,000- erasing an estimated $20 billion worth of leveraged positions industry wide.
The rumor claimed that Wintermute, which as a market maker provides crucial liquidity to platforms like Binance, was a major victim. The losses were allegedly a result of a failure in Binance’s auto-deleveraging (ADL) mechanism, a risk-management tool that automatically closes profitable positions to cover those of bankrupt traders during extreme volatility.
‘Trust Official Sources’: CZ Weighs In
The noise grew loud enough to draw a response from former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao. From his X account, “CZ” cautioned his 10.4 million followers against believing unverified claims. “Always verify with ‘official sources’,” he posted.
This incident exposes the continuing issue of “FUD,” which stands for fear, uncertainty, and doubt, in the crypto-focused world. Unsubstantiated remarks made by a few social media accounts were soon propagated by crypto influencers, further destabilizing an already disconcerted market and likely triggering another bout of selling.
Wintermute’s Own Role Questioned
Ironically, while Gaevoy was busy denying his firm was a victim, other market watchers were pointing fingers at Wintermute as a potential contributor to the crash. Just hours before the massive downturn, blockchain data showed that Wintermute had transferred over $700 million to a Binance hot wallet. This large movement led to unconfirmed accusations that the firm’s own actions may have helped fuel the volatility that day.
A Jittery Market Feels the Pinch
Gaevoy’s denial came as the crypto market started the week on shaky ground, falling 3% on Monday to a total capitalization of $3.65 trillion. No single event seemed to spur the decline, but the misleading Wintermute rumors may have contributed to investors feeling even more uneasy. This nervousness was exacerbated by nearly $1.3 billion in newly-instituted leveraged positions being liquidated over the last 24 hours. It has also been noted by analysts that “Bitcoin OG whales”— some of the earliest and largest holders of the asset—are still continuing to sell, ostensibly to take profit from their holdings, while the price of Bitcoin remains above $100,000. Gaevoy’s denial may have put one fire out, but the market remains far from stable.
