Sam Bankman-Fried, the CEO and founder of FTX, a leading cryptocurrency exchange, has filed a lawsuit against Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, and its CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ), for defamation on Twitter. The lawsuit claims that Binance and CZ made false and malicious statements about FTX and its products, causing damage to its reputation and business.

The lawsuit stems from a series of tweets that Binance and CZ posted on September 30, 2023, in response to a tweet by Bankman-Fried announcing the launch of FTX’s new product, FTX Options. FTX Options is a decentralized platform that allows users to trade options contracts on various cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and FTX Token.

Binance and CZ accused FTX of copying Binance’s product, Binance Options, which was launched in April 2020. They also claimed that FTX Options were insecure, unreliable, and prone to manipulation. They urged their followers to avoid using FTX Options and to stick with Binance Options instead.

Bankman-Fried denied the allegations and defended his product, saying that FTX Options was not a copy of Binance Options, but a completely original and innovative platform that offered more features, flexibility, and transparency than Binance Options. He also said that FTX Options was secure, reliable, and fair and that it had undergone rigorous testing and auditing before launching.

The lawsuit alleges that Binance and CZ’s tweets were false, misleading, and defamatory and that they intended to harm FTX’s reputation and market share. The lawsuit seeks compensatory and punitive damages from Binance and CZ, as well as an injunction to stop them from making further defamatory statements about FTX and its products.

Binance and CZ have not yet responded to the lawsuit or commented on the matter.