Changpeng Zhao disputed Kyrgyzstan President Sadyr Japarov’s account of a proposal for a crypto-friendly private bank on November 3, 2025.
Cointelegraph reported that Japarov had told the Kabar news agency Zhao suggested a private bank during discussions following a May visit. Japarov connected those discussions to Bereket Bank.
Zhao’s denial
In an X post cited in the report, Zhao said he had not proposed creating a bank himself, did not recognize the bank name mentioned and had no interest in running one. He said he might have expressed general support for more digital banks serving crypto.
Those statements contradicted the president’s account. They did not independently establish what every participant said in the underlying discussions.
Advisory work is a separate relationship
The reporting dated Zhao’s announced advisory arrangement with Kyrgyzstan’s foreign investment agency to April 2025. That relationship does not establish ownership of a bank.
The available public record supports reporting a disputed account. It does not support declaring the president’s motives, concluding that investor confidence was damaged or stating that no related project could exist.
Editor’s note: The advisory timeline is corrected to April 2025. The earlier article’s invented quotations and categorical conclusions about the president and the bank have been replaced with attributed, conflicting accounts.