Leading cryptocurrency Binance had agreed to a non-binding strategic transaction on Tuesday to fully acquire the beleaguered Sam Bankman-Fried’s exchange, FTX. However, the deal fell through on Wednesday, with Binance saying the “issues are beyond our control or ability to help.”
The glimmer of hope customers had to recover their crypto-assets was shattered by the announcement, followed by an extended market bloodbath. Reports also emerged that FTX’s shortfall is about $8 billion. Regardless, the founder Sam Bankman-Fried remains resilient and ready to pick up the exchange from the messy situation.
In a leaked slack message to FTX employees, Bankman-Fried shared what appears to be a roadmap to potentially restore the troubled cryptocurrency exchange, for which the affected customers are at the topmost priority.
FTX to pursue rescue funding
Earlier today, some sources close to FTX reported that the company was looking to raise emergency funding through equity and debts, or both. Bankman-Fried confirmed these claims in the message to the employees, saying the company shall be conducting a raise, starting next week.
Perhaps the first goal on the roadmap, FTX’s founder said the raise would be the top priority and could end up being a combined infusion of FTX’s International and the United States-based arm, FTX.US.
“The goal of the raise will be to do right by customers; second by current and possible new investors; third all of you guys [the employees],” Sam Bankman-Fried wrote. “I don’t want to give any sense of confidence in what will happen, and I don’t want to imply anything about the odds of success here.”
Bankman-Fried stated in the message that Tron’s Justin Sun is among the investors in contact for the potential raise. Earlier, Sun tweeted that his team have collaborated with FTX officials to map out a “wholistic solution” to resuscitate and return to normalcy for all FTX users.
As part of the solution, FTX has re-enabled trading of Tron’s native cryptocurrency, including their Tron-based tokens like BTT, JST, SUN, including Huobi Token (HT).
SBF says Binance never planned to continue with the deal
While commenting on Binance’s decision yesterday to discontinue the acquisition deal, Sam Bankman-Fried noted that the largest cryptocurrency exchange never planned to go through with the deal.
“I shouldn’t throw stones in a glass house, so I’ll hold back a bit here, except to say: probably, they [Binance] never really planned to go through with the deal, but so be it: we’re going to do our jobs here, regardless.”
On the contrary, Binance said it could continue with the deal because of the corporate due diligence, mishandled customers’ funds, and reports that US agencies, including the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), were beginning to investigate the situation.
