Bitcoin price dropped below $16,000 this morning. First time in two years! Meaning: Hundreds of thousands of investors lost billions. The grand theft was caused by Sam Bankman-Fried. The head of crypto exchange FTX lost $15 billion in the sand. Before the first reports of problems with FTX, the Bitcoin course was over $20,000. At its peak, the cryptocurrency was around $65,000.
At first, Binance, the world’s largest trading platform for digital currencies like Bitcoin, was rumored to bail out rival FTX. However, that hope has since evaporated.
“We’ve decided not to pursue potential buying any longer,” Binance said on Twitter last night. The reason is, among other things, media abuses of using client funds and alleged investigations by the US authorities.
The recovery announced by crypto giant Binance was initially only a non-binding statement of intent, as boss Changpeng Zhao (45) emphasized. After the audit began, Binance quickly withdrew from the takeover plan.
Zhao and Bankman-Fried are arch rivals
Zhao plays an ambiguous role in the back and forth movements. On Sunday, he reinforced suspicions about FTX’s cash reserves with a tweet, prompting customers to fly there.
Zhao and FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried were once closely linked as industry pioneers and partners, but later became arch rivals on crypto exchanges and have recently fallen out due to regulatory issues.
Bankman-Fried has increasingly become a spokesperson for the crypto scene and sought to lobby politicians and auditors. Zhao didn’t like it.
Customer security uncertain
Bankman-Fried now stands in front of the remains of the FTX company. A few months ago, he was seen as a child prodigy and a beacon of hope helping financially weak companies in the crypto industry.
It’s unclear how things will continue for FTX customers. Bankman-Fried made sure all deposits were protected and paid in full.
But this seems increasingly uncertain. Until the situation escalated, Bankman-Fried claimed there was nothing to worry about and dismissed the rumors of money shortages as false. (SDA/kae)