Binance accidentally copies BitMEX’s futures documentation, Changpeng Zhao owns up to it 🚨 This article is 5 years old...
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Binance accidentally copies BitMEX’s futures documentation, Changpeng Zhao owns up to it
2 min read
Updated: Apr. 6, 2020 at 1:18 am UTC
Cover art/illustration via CryptoSlate. Image includes combined content which may include AI-generated content.
Binance’s newly launched testnet futures platform contained a word-for-word copy of BitMEX’s terms and conditions. BitMEX CEO Arthur Hayes ‘jokingly’ pointed out the similarities between the documents and Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao owned the mistake, saying the plagiarism would be promptly fixed.
BitMEX takes a sarcastic jab at Binance for plagiarizing documentation
One of the biggest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world, Binance, has been in the process of launching testnets for its newly announced futures trading platforms. The exchange launched two different platforms for users to choose from and even set up a voting system where users can choose which platforms they like best.
While Binance’s users welcomed the opportunity to test futures trading, one of the incumbent crypto derivatives trading platforms used the opportunity to take a jab at the exchange. BitMEX, a Seychelles-based crypto exchange, posted a tongue-in-cheek tweet teasing Binance for the blatant plagiarism found in its futures documentation.
Congrats on the Testnet Futures launches @binance. Glad to see you enjoyed reading our documentation as much as we enjoyed writing it! pic.twitter.com/lLzcLcX6t4
— BitMEX (@BitMEXdotcom) September 4, 2019
In the tweet, BitMEX posted side-by-side comparisons of the two exchanges’ documentation, showing that they were word-for-word copies.
BitMEX’s sarcastic tweet got a lot of Twitter attention, with hundreds of users finding Binance’s blatant copying a good reason to goad the exchange. Some joked about it representing the Chinese business model, in which companies copy western products and make them cheaper. Others used the opportunity to post memes making fun of the situation.
BINANCE caught copying ?♂️? pic.twitter.com/ErSNeqUYZN
— Crypto Meme Central ? (@CryptoScamHub) September 4, 2019
CZ owns up to the mistake, laughs the incident off
However, Changpeng Zhao, the CEO of Binance, quickly responded to BitMEX’s jab and owned up to the mistake. He apologized, saying the similarities between BitMEX’s and Binance’s documentation was missed in the due diligence process when acquiring the JEX derivatives platform.
Zhao said that the mistake will be fixed and the content removed as soon as possible, sharing the official documents for the documentation developed by Binance for BitMEX to review.
Shame on us. ? Sorry about that. Missed this in the DD process before the acquisition (didn't read the BitMex docs ourselves). Will fix/remove ASAP.
The official docs of Futures A platform (developed internally) are here: https://t.co/TPjvYgB2hr for your review.
— CZ Binance (@cz_binance) September 4, 2019
Many praised Zhao for owning up to the situation, saying he was a great example of how mistakes don’t get in the way of gaining and retaining respect.
admit, apologize, fix. and onwards!
— CZ Binance (@cz_binance) September 4, 2019
Even Arthur Hayes, the co-founder and CEO of BitMEX, responded to Zhao’s apology, calling him “my man.” Although, many Twitter users were not convinced that Hayes’s response was lighthearted. Nonetheless, the situation resolved itself quickly.
This was not the first time a large crypto company has been accused of plagiarising documents. The highest profile incident shows that TRON and its CEO Justin Sun blatantly plagiarized large portions of its whitepaper from IPFS and Filecoin’s technical documentation
Even BitMEX itself was accused of plagiarizing documentation from OKEx. Last year, a Wall Street Journal report found that 16 percent of all ICOs showed signs of “plagiarism, identity theft and promises of improbable returns.”
Perhaps ‘copying’ is just another unsavory, yet inevitable, element of the cryptocurrency industry.
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BitMEX
HDR Global Trading Limited owns and operates BitMEX which is a trading platform that offers investors access to the global financial markets using only Bitcoin.
Binance
Binance is a global cryptocurrency exchange that provides a platform for trading more than 100 cryptocurrencies.
Changpeng Zhao, popularly known as “CZ,” is a notable figure in the cryptocurrency world, primarily for founding and leading Binance, the world’s leading cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume.
Arthur Hayes, a prominent figure in the world of cryptocurrency, co-founded the cryptocurrency exchange BitMEX and served as its CEO until recent events shifted his career trajectory.
