A leading cryptocurrency exchange issued a new emoji on their Twitter account Wednesday. The decision became an example of making sure multiple sets of eyes check things before they’re officially changed.
What Happened: Binance changed its Twitter (NYSE: TWTR) profile description to include an emoji after hashtagging the words "Binance" and "BNB", which is the symbol for its token Binance Coin (CRYPTO: BNB).
The symbol resembled a swastika often connected to the Nazis and Adolf Hitler in the west.
Popular Twitter influencer Greg16676935420 called out the likeness on Twitter.
Binance, a company worth 300 billion dollars, somehow thought this would be an acceptable new logo... smh my head pic.twitter.com/EMxd12e55b
— greg (@greg16676935420) April 20, 2022
Binance later took down the new emoji and apologized.
“Well that was obviously really embarrassing. We’re not sure how that emoji got through several layers of review without anyone noticing, but we immediately flagged the issue, pulled it down, and the new emoji design is being rolled out as we speak,” Binance said.
Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao said on Twitter that “even the best interns make mistakes, but we fix it quickly."
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Why It’s Important: Many have called out Binance for allowing a logo that was seen by millions of people to be decided on quickly and without being fully vetted.
Others took to Twitter to make jokes about the logo and highlighted the fact that Binance's swastika emoji was unveiled on April 20, which also marks Hitler’s birthday.
Cryptocurrency exchange rival FTX chose not to poke fun but instead tweeted a meme of someone trying hard not to do something.
Editor's Note: In Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism, the Swastika is a symbol of auspiciousness and its history dates back to over 2000 years ago.
While Swastika is primarily associated with Hitler in the west, it continues to be revered as a holy symbol in several Asian countries, including in some parts of China, where Binance has its origins. In these cultures, the swastika is almost always drawn straight-up and in colors such as orange, red and yellow — unlike the tilted black version used by Nazis.
