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Tag: Sam Bankman-Fried

  • Binance Abandons Plans to Buy FTX

    Binance Abandons Plans to Buy FTX

    Binance has abandoned plans to purchase FTX, despite being partly to blame for its rival’s woes.

    FTX’s value has plummeted and sparked liquidity concerns following a CoinDesk report revealing that much of Alameda Research’s value was based on illiquid tokens, such as FTX’s FTT. Both companies were founded by FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried. Following the revelation, Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao announced he would divest his FTT holdings, driving FTX down even more.

    Despite initially striking a deal to purchase FTX, Binance has reversed course, deciding the deal is untenable.

    “As a result of corporate due diligence, as well as the latest news reports regarding mishandled customer funds and alleged U.S. agency investigations, we have decided that we will not pursue the potential acquisition of FTX.com,” a Binance spokesperson told CoinDesk.

    “In the beginning, our hope was to be able to support FTX’s customers to provide liquidity, but the issues are beyond our control or ability to help. Every time a major player in an industry fails, retail consumers will suffer. We have seen over the last several years that the crypto ecosystem is becoming more resilient and we believe in time that outliers that misuse user funds will be weeded out by the free market.

    “As regulatory frameworks are developed and as the industry continues to evolve toward greater decentralization, the ecosystem will grow stronger,” the spokesperson added.

  • Nothing to See Here: FTX CEO Denies Plans to Buy Robinhood

    Nothing to See Here: FTX CEO Denies Plans to Buy Robinhood

    Sam Bankman-Fried, CEO of crypto exchange FTX, has denied rumors his company is looking to purchase Robinhood.

    Bloomberg reported Monday that FTX was investigating the possibility of purchasing the stock trading platform, although no official offer had been made. Bloomberg’s sources were “people with knowledge of the matter.” In a statement to TechCrunch, however, Bankman-Fried said there are no active talks with Robinhood about an acquisition.

    “We are excited about Robinhood’s business prospects and potential ways we could partner with them, and I have always been impressed by the business that Vlad and his team have built,” Bankman-Fried said. “That being said there are no active M&A conversations with Robinhood.”

    In its own statement to TechCrunch, Robinhood pointed out that its founders control more than half of the company’s voting power. As a result, no deal could happen without their approval and support.

    Only time will tell if the two companies end up partnering on various initiatives.