Binance founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao just denied rumors of secretly backing meme coins on BNB Chain, after sending 400 million spam tokens worth $1.6 million to a burn address.

The transfers sparked manipulation theories, but on-chain data reveals a routine cleanup that has been repeating for years.

Inside CZ’s $1.6 Million Token Cleanup

A burn address is a wallet without an accessible private key, so any tokens sent to it are removed from circulation forever. About a day ago, CZ moved roughly 400 million units of third-party tokens into one of these addresses.

Furthermore, the batch totaled $1.6 million. Moreover, the destination was the well-known dead address starting with 0x000, a common target for permanent token removal.

The crypto community reacted fast. On-chain researchers flagged the transfers, and theories about market manipulation quickly began circulating. However, CZ promptly clarified on X that he was simply clearing out digital garbage accumulated in his public wallet.

“I simply hadn’t checked that wallet in a long time; when I opened it, I discovered there were too many tokens (tens of thousands), and the software interface wasn’t very user-friendly. I made a suggestion and then ran a test. Instead of sending it to my address, it’s better to send it directly to a ‘black hole’ address; it saves a step and is more direct and effective: 0x000000000000000000000000000000000000dEaD,” CZ said on X.

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The explanation points to a long-running problem. Creators of third-party projects had been sending spam tokens to his address for years, chasing free publicity.

As a result, the wallet interface eventually stopped displaying his balance correctly, forcing the manual cleanup.

Additionally, burning the tokens directly removes clutter in a single step, without selling or transferring each asset individually.

Why Do Projects Send Spam Tokens to Famous Wallets

The most famous precedent involved Vitalik Buterin in 2021. Shiba Inu’s team transferred an enormous share of the supply to the Ethereum co-founder without asking him. Instead of validating the project, he burned 90% of those holdings and publicly asked developers to abandon the practice.

CZ now faces the same dynamic on a recurring basis. According to Arkham, his wallet has absorbed unwanted tokens for years, forcing periodic purges of ever-increasing size. Altogether, the Binance founder has erased more than $6.24 million in spam assets over the past twelve months.

The takeaway is straightforward. The transfers carry no hidden market signal and reflect maintenance rather than manipulation.

Zhao even joked that depositing tokens into his wallet works like a shortcut to a black hole. As a result, projects hoping for free promotion simply watch their tokens vanish faster.

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Source: BeInCrypto