Binance plans to liquidate all FTT holdings due to "recent revelations that have come to light."
Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in terms of daily trading volumes, is reportedly getting rid of the entirety of its rival’s crypto exchange, FTX, native token, FTT.
According to the Twitter thread shared by Binance founder and CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, the decision was made due to “recent revelations that have come to light.”
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Afterward, Zhao shared a tweet claiming that the decision to liquidate FTT tokens is “just post-exit risk management.” Last year, Binance sold its stakes back to FTX. The company bought Binance’s stakes for $2.1 billion, “USD equivalent in cash (BUSD and FTT).” It is believed that Binance aims liquidate around $529 million worth of FTX tokens.
Commenting on the matter, Zhao added:
We gave support before, but we won't pretend to make love after divorce. We are not against anyone. But we won't support people who lobby against other industry players behind their backs. Onwards.
Zhao’s comment may be connected to the recently leaked balance sheet from Sam Bankman-Fried Alameda Research. The balance sheets reveal that billions of dollars of Alameda Research assets are tied up to FTX tokens.
In response to Zhao’s tweets, Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison noted that balance sheets do not reflect the true story, noting that the sheet reflects only on “a subset of our corporate entities,” adding that “> $10b of assets” are not reflected in that particular case.
Furthermore, Binance’s CEO highlighted that liquidation may take a few months to complete as the company aims to “minimize market impact.” After Zhao’s tweets, Caroline Ellison tweeted to Binance CEO, offering to buy all the assets for $22 each.
FTX’s Sam Bankman-Fried used Twitter to share his opinion about the situation, claiming that he was intending to write a different thread, however, emphasized: “we are all in this together, and I wish the best to *everyone* driving the industry forward.” Sam Bankman-Fried, added:
At the time of writing, FTT retails for $22,02, recording a 4,22% price drop in the last 24 hours.