Wintermute CEO Evgeny Gaevoy has dismissed rumours that the market-making firm intends to sue Binance over the October 10 flash crash, calling the speculation “complete nonsense.” The incident, which saw Bitcoin plunge by more than 15% from $121,560 to below $103,000, erased roughly $20 billion in leveraged positions across the market.
In a post shared on X (formerly Twitter) on Monday, Gaevoy stated firmly that Wintermute “never had plans to sue Binance, nor see any reason to do it in future.” He went on to criticise those spreading false claims, remarking that most people “believe these have goldfish memory capacity.” His response was aimed at viral posts from a pseudonymous X account, WhalePump Reborn, which alleged that Wintermute was preparing legal action against Binance, claiming compensation for losses tied to a supposed failure in the exchange’s auto-deleveraging risk mechanism during the crash.
Wintermute, one of the largest liquidity providers on Binance, plays a key role in stabilising prices and maintaining smooth market operations. The rumour suggested that Wintermute’s liquidity positions were adversely affected when Bitcoin’s price rapidly collapsed following U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff announcement, which triggered panic selling and system-wide liquidations.
In response to WhalePump Reborn’s claims, Gaevoy bluntly called the story “a larp,” a slang term meaning a fabricated or role-played scenario. The same account also claimed that several other crypto firms were considering lawsuits against Binance, though no credible evidence has supported those assertions.
Former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao also addressed the spreading misinformation, urging his 10.4 million followers to rely only on verified, official sources. The false reports had circulated widely among crypto influencers, amplifying fear, uncertainty, and doubt across social media just as market volatility surged.
Adding to the intrigue, some users accused Wintermute of playing a part in the crash itself after on-chain data showed the firm transferring over $700 million to a Binance hot wallet hours before the sell-off. However, there’s no clear indication that the move directly influenced Bitcoin’s sudden decline.
The broader crypto market has continued to feel the aftershocks of that volatility. On Monday, total market capitalisation was down about 3% to $3.65 trillion, with nearly $1.3 billion in leveraged positions liquidated over the previous 24 hours. Analysts say that ongoing whale sell-offs and investor anxiety about regulatory and geopolitical developments have further pressured sentiment.
Despite the noise, Wintermute and Binance have publicly dismissed any legal dispute, signalling that the latest rumours are another case of social media-fueled misinformation unsettling an already fragile crypto market.
