Samuel Bankman-Fried’s FTX exchange rumors of a bank run drained it of reputedly all its Bitcoin reserves. As a result of this 94% of SBF’s net worth of $16 billion was wiped out overnight.
FTT, the native token of the FTX exchange, witnessed a massive drawdown as large wallet investors exchanged it for stablecoins and US Dollars. FTT price went down 70% overnight, bringing the token’s total decline from $22 to $4.68 since the conflict between the FTX exchange and Binance began.
The CEOs of the two exchanges crossed swords after FTX CEO Samuel Bankman Fried’s controversial views on crypto market regulation were made known. SBF recommended regulators shift their focus away from centralized exchanges to Defi platforms instead. This made SBF an unpopular figure in the Defi industry which interpreted it as an existential threat.
Changpeng Zhao (CZ), CEO of Binance, was one of SBF’s critics and recently liquidated over half a billion of its FTT holdings in what was viewed as an attack on SBF. In a veiled warning about the vulnerability of the ETX exchange, CZ reminded traders of Terra’s collapse.
In the latest twist and turn in the story, FTX has been reported as reaching out to Binance for help in the ongoing crisis. The latter now appears to have signed a letter of intent to acquire SBF’s exchange. Binance’s acquisition of FTX will be the largest in crypto history.
