The founder of the Binance cryptocurrency exchange called on the former head of FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried, to stop threatening on Twitter.
The founder of the bankrupt FTX exchange, Sam Bankman-Fried, should focus on his problems, and not write threatening tweets. This opinion was expressed in an interview with CNBC by the head of Binance, Changpeng Zhao.
Zhao’s statements came in response to Bankman-Fried’s tweet, where he promised to “tell more about his sparring partner” over time, alluding to the creator of Binance. According to Zhao, the behavior of the former head of FTX is unprofessional and he “should not write such tweets,” since Binance did not know about the problems of the bankrupt exchange.
“I had no idea that FTX was in trouble, otherwise we would have sold FTT tokens a long time ago,” says Zhao.
What exactly Bankman-Fried is not saying remains unclear. Earlier, the head of the controversial FTX crypto exchange already wrote in an internal corporate letter that Binance may have publicly staged a takeover, although in fact the exchange never had such plans.
Recall that the crisis around FTX began shortly after Changpeng Zhao announced the liquidation of his stake in FTX in FTT tokens. According to the head of Binance, his exchange decided to get rid of its stake in FTT after “recent revelations.”
Zhao still hasn’t said exactly what he’s talking about, but his announcement came a couple of days after a media reveal about the bloated balance sheet of trading firm Alameda Research, also founded by Bankman-Freed.
Against the background of the massive withdrawal of money from FTX, the head of Binance once again spoke publicly about the exchange. This time, he announced that the Binance exchange had signed a “non-binding agreement” with the Bankman-Fried company on the intention to absorb the trading platform. Bankman-Fried also confirmed Binance’s plans to take over FTX.
However, the very next day after the announcement, Binance abandoned the deal, citing the investigation of the US authorities against FTX and the incorrect use of client money by the exchange. At the same time, Zhao denied accusations of deliberately destroying FTX, assuring that the collapse of FTX would not benefit anyone in the industry.
A week later, FTX filed for bankruptcy due to a billion-dollar corporate account hole, and Bankman-Fried resigned.
