Star's Response to CZ: Equating DEX and CEX is not being open, but rather an attempt to evade responsibility

**February 10 Update: Star (OKX) Pushes Back on CZ’s DEX-CEX Framing** On February 10, Star (associated with OKX) responded to Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) on X, rejecting his earlier take on decentralized (DEX) vs. centralized (CEX) exchanges: “At first glance, [CZ’s statement] seems plausible, but it’s a flawed analogy. DEX and CEX serve fundamentally different roles: DEX offers open, permissionless access as a purely self-custodial tool—service providers aren’t intermediaries and don’t control user funds. Users interacting with DEXs should (and presumably do) understand they’re using a tool and bear full responsibility for their actions.” Star cited former U.S. SEC Chairman Paul Atkins: *“The right to self-custody private property is one of America’s foundational values, and this right should not disappear when logging onto the internet.”* By contrast, Star noted, CEXs hold custody of user funds (similar to banks) and thus must uphold explicit obligations: anti-money laundering (AML), sanctions compliance, anti-fraud measures, and consumer protection. “CEXs aren’t neutral ‘pipes’—they act as trusted intermediaries with operational responsibilities. They’re obligated to protect users, not just list every existing asset. Equating DEXs and CEXs isn’t open-minded—it’s an attempt to evade responsibility. This core distinction also reflects longstanding value differences between OKX and Binance.” This pushback follows CZ’s prior X post addressing the claim: *“Crypto exchanges should stop listing meme coins to make the industry more legitimate.”* CZ stated: *“It’s good that DEXs list all tokens, but bad for CEXs to do so. A trading platform should provide access to all assets—if a token some users like isn’t listed, it’s due to each exchange’s unique token listing review framework (which may change over time).”*