CZ says Giggle Academy sells donated memecoins into BNB to fund education

Giggle Academy, the free education platform founded by former Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, says unsolicited token donations are generally used to support its mission rather than left untouched or burned by default. Zhao said the project has for months converted or sold most donated tokens into BNB near the end of each month, and also sells BNB periodically when funding is needed for operations. Responding to criticism over recent sales of meme coins from wallets linked to the project, Zhao said he had no communication with the Giggle Academy team about the latest transactions and does not personally manage the donation wallet. He argued that donors who send tokens without a prior agreement should not expect the recipient to follow their preferences, including burning the assets instead of selling them. Zhao said proceeds from token sales fund Giggle Academy’s free education effort, which he said has reached more than 1 million children in less than two years, and pointed users to public spending records that can be checked on-chain. The episode has also renewed debate over Zhao’s influence on meme coin markets, with some supporters saying the sales are consistent with the academy’s mission and some critics warning that selling donated meme tokens may add market pressure and discourage future contributions. Zhao also said he may personally interact with meme coins in the near future, without naming any specific projects.