A new claim from Changpeng Zhao’s memoir is drawing attention to Binance’s failed push into the Philippine market. In his book, CZ  accused Wei Zhou, a former Binance and Coins.ph’s current CEO of pulling strings to hinder the platform’s integration into the PH market.

In Freedom of Money, released April 8, Zhao alleges that Zhou actively tried to block Binance’s entry into the Philippines to protect Coins.ph from competition.

Zhou has pushed back, releasing the full document at the center of the claim, and disputing the narrative outright.

The Allegation: Blocking a Competitor

According to CZ’s account, Zhou sent a letter to an industry group in an effort to prevent Binance from gaining a foothold in the country.

The implied motive: avoid “fierce competition” after acquiring Coins.ph.

The claim adds new specificity to earlier remarks from Zhao in 2025, when he referred to “a local player” allegedly influencing Binance’s licensing challenges in the Philippines; without naming anyone at the time.

Coins.ph’s Side of the Story

Zhou’s response centers on a single piece of evidence, a private letter dated September 9, 2022, addressed to Fintech Alliance.ph chairman Lito Villanueva.

The letter, now publicly released, does not call for Binance to be blocked.

Instead, it asks why the Alliance partnered with Binance—then an unregistered VASP in the Philippines—for blockchain education initiatives without consulting its own members, including Coins.ph.

Zhou also says that the letter was private, and was leaked internally, reaching Zhao just one day after it was sent.

BITDIGEST EXCLUSIVE
Coins PH CEO: Not Against Competition

In his official statement with an exclusive interview with BitDigest, Zhou rejects the allegation of anti-competitive intent.

“We asked the Fintech Alliance… why they did not come to Coins for blockchain education initiatives.”

He adds that Zhao himself forwarded the letter back to him shortly after it was sent—evidence, he says, that the document circulated internally without his involvement.

Zhou also struck a conciliatory tone, emphasizing his past ties to Binance:

"I love Binance and I love CZ and everyone I worked with at Binance."

By late 2023, the Philippine SEC had moved to block access to Binance, citing its absence of local license as a Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP).

Meanwhile, Coins.ph operated with full regulatory approval and deep integration within local fintech networks, including its role as a trustee member of Fintech Alliance.ph.

Whether internal industry dynamics played any role remains unclear, but regulatory compliance was already a central issue in Binance’s inability to formally enter the market.

‍