Changpeng Zhao’s dog sparks Broccoli memecoin boom and controversies

Changpeng Zhao (CZ), the former Binance CEO, is under scrutiny following the emergence of multiple memecoins named after his dog, Broccoli.

On Feb. 13, Zhao revealed his Belgian Malinois dog’s name and photo after multiple requests from community members.

While Zhao assured that he would not launch a Broccoli-themed token himself, he hinted at trading successful ones. He also suggested that the BNB Foundation could support promising Broccoli tokens.

Zhao stated:

“I am just posting my dog’s picture and name. I am NOT issuing a meme coin myself. It’s up to the community to do that (or not). I will likely interact with a few of the more popular meme coins on BNB Chain (BSC).”

Within hours, multiple Broccoli-branded tokens appeared on BNB Chain’s Four.Meme launchpad and Solana-based Pump.Fun. Many of these tokens were scams, with creators executing rug pulls, leaving investors at a loss.

Critics argue that Zhao should have anticipated this outcome. Given his influence, disclosing his dog’s details made it easy for opportunists to exploit the hype. Several prominent figures in crypto have seen their names or affiliations linked to memecoins but rarely engage with or endorse them.

Some, like crypto trader Crypto Chanshi, accused Zhao of using the memecoin frenzy to boost activity on the BNB Smart Chain.

Despite this, Zhao defended his position, stating he had no direct involvement and hoped the best community-driven memecoin would thrive.

The Binance founder also admitted that while he wanted to boost on-chain engagement, he had no intention of launching or managing a memecoin. Zhao later acknowledged that he could have handled the situation differently.

He wrote:

“Yes, I wanted to see more activity on BSC. And I did not want to get involved in issuing/running a meme coin, as I have zero experience. And I thought memes were community-driven.”

While many investors suffered losses, a handful of traders made substantial profits from the Broccoli memecoin craze.

According to blockchain analytics firm Lookonchain, one trader leveraged the hype to amass nearly $28 million. The trader swiftly bought multiple Broccoli-themed memecoins, spread them across different wallets, and sold them at peak prices for a massive windfall.

Lookonchain also identified another opportunistic trader operating from wallet 0x392eb who made a $7 million profit from the memecoin. The firm pointed out that this trader spent less than $1,000 to create a token called “CZ’s Dog (Broccoli)” moments after Zhao’s tweet.

Meanwhile, industry veteran Andre Cronje criticized the so-called winners, labeling their actions as outright theft rather than strategic trading. He argued that launching a memecoin only to dump it on unsuspecting buyers should not be considered legitimate profit.

According to him, this behavior exemplifies the darker side of crypto speculation, where traders knowingly engage in high-risk gambles, often at the expense of others.

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