CZ says ‘Buy Fear, Sell Greed’—Crypto X says ‘Yeah, sure, buddy’

Binance founder Changpeng Zhao has once again waded into crypto philosophy hour, this time offering his own spin on the age-old trader’s mantra: buy low, sell high.

In a weekend post on X, Zhao—better known as CZ— declared that the smartest money in Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) is made by selling when the market is foaming at the mouth and buying when everyone else is panic-refreshing their portfolio apps.

“Unpopular opinion, but it’s better to sell when there is maximum greed, and buy when there is maximum fear,” CZ wrote, prompting a collective eyebrow raise from Crypto Twitter.

It’s a bold sentiment to drop amid Bitcoin’s recent emotional whiplash. The Fear & Greed Index has been swinging between extremes like a caffeinated metronome, with greed spiking during short-lived rallies and fear surging just as dramatically during pullbacks.

Some traders agreed with CZ, framing his advice as a reminder to keep feelings out of the equation—an aspirational stance in a market where emotions often run the show. But others were quick to point out that the trading doctrine doesn’t match his usual public messaging.

One user clapped back:

“But why do you keep urging me to buy, and never remind me to sell when the market is buzzing with excitement? Not even once.”

Another piled on with less subtlety:

“And when there’s maximum greed you tell them ‘hold’ LMAO. CZ, come off it… you have never said ‘sell.’ Always buy buy buy. Do you ever sell?”

A third skipped the philosophy altogether and went straight for the jugular, describing Binance as “a casino mafia driving crypto into the ground listing absolute shitters.”

The clash highlights a long-running tension in crypto: traders want zen-master wisdom, but they also want receipts. And while CZ’s timing-the-cycle advice may be sound in theory, getting the masses to buy fear and sell greed is easier said than done—especially when most of Crypto Twitter seems happiest doing the exact opposite.