CZ Denies Dubai Surfing Hoax as Meme Coins Pop on Solana, BNB

Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao denied a viral claim that he disappeared in a surfing accident near Jumeirah in Dubai after traders created low-cap SEAZ and RIPCZ meme tokens on Solana and the BNB Chain.

The false post first circulated in Chinese-language WeChat groups on Sunday and claimed that Zhao had been swept out to sea and that rescue teams were conducting a large search. The message described calm seas with a strong rip current, a detail not confirmed by authorities.

Within hours, traders minted knockoff tokens using SEAZ and RIPCZ tickers on Solana launchpads and on a BNB Chain meme launch platform. Several pools moved with heavy turnover despite limited liquidity, and many of the new tokens traded at fractions of a cent.

On-chain trading data show multiple SEAZ pools on Solana with market capitalizations roughly between $2,400 and $4,600 and liquidity below $6,000. A SEAZ pool on BNB Chain registered a market cap near $8,300 with about $9,500 in liquidity. One Solana SEAZ pool recorded roughly $114,000 in reported volume while holding about $5,683 in liquidity. Most of the new tokens fell between 10% and 40% within hours of launch.

Zhao posted on X to reject the rumour, noting that he kite-surfs rather than uses a surfboard and that Dubai is not a known surfing destination. He wrote: ‘I don’t surf (kite surfing is a diff sport). Dubai is not even a surfing destination. There is Surf Abu Dhabi, worlds largest man made surf place, which I haven’t tried yet. No rip current there. Let’s go together?’

He has previously warned followers about chasing tokens tied to his name and wrote that ‘I am not against memes, but meme coins are getting ‘a little’ weird now.’

The episode followed earlier instances where rapid token creation and low-liquidity pools produced sharp price swings. Zhao’s denial addressed the rumor directly and included a reminder to watch for fake news.