{"id":1777063,"date":"2022-12-16T06:10:11","date_gmt":"2022-12-16T11:10:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1777063"},"modified":"2022-12-16T06:18:17","modified_gmt":"2022-12-16T11:18:17","slug":"ftx-collapse-heightens-anxiety-over-binance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ftx-collapse-heightens-anxiety-over-binance\/","title":{"rendered":"FTX Collapse Heightens Anxiety Over Binance"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">12<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fftx-collapse-heightens-anxiety-over-binance%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1777063&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>After the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/t-ftx\">FTX<\/a> collapse, Binance co-founder and CEO Changpeng Zhao is grappling with challenges on numerous fronts.<\/p>\n<p>As the industry deals with the high-profile fallout from FTX, billions of dollars are fleeing Binance, one of the world\u2019s largest cryptocurrency exchanges. Further, Zhao has recently come under fire for being responsible for the FTX\u2019s collapse, and he might be asked to return the $2.1 billion payment that Binance received when it sold its stake in FTX in 2019.<\/p>\n<p>On Dec. 15, Zhao dismissed concerns that his company would be obliged to repay the money as a result of FTX\u2019s bankruptcy proceedings.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think we\u2019ll leave that to the lawyers. I think our legal team is perfectly capable of handling it,\u201d Zhao told <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2022\/12\/15\/binance-ceo-changpeng-cz-zhao-brushes-off-2-billion-ftx-clawback-concerns-fraud.html\">CNBC.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Binance\u2019s 24-hour net outflow hit <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/binance-withdrawals-surge-to-3-billion-in-24-hours-as-crypto-industry-trembles-amid-ftx-fallout_4923149.html\">$3 billion<\/a> on Dec. 13, one of the highest amounts of customer withdrawals, according to blockchain analytics firm Nansen.<\/p>\n<p>Zhao dismissed worries, saying that everything is normal.\u00a0\u201cWe saw some withdrawals today (net $1.14b-ish). We have seen this before. Some days we have net withdrawals; some days we have net deposits. Business as usual for us,\u201d Zhao <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/cz_binance\/status\/1602676998094069760?s=20&#038;t=Fo8Xg18LrFMb_mLdj2o1Rw\">wrote <\/a>on Twitter on Dec. 13.<\/p>\n<p>The CEO also criticized Shark Tank investor Kevin O\u2019Leary, known as \u201cMr. Wonderful,\u201d for his recent comments.<\/p>\n<p>In an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=pIXq1pfvG0g&#038;feature=youtu.be\">interview<\/a> on CNBC last week, O\u2019Leary implied that Binance was partly to blame for the FTX insolvency crisis. During a hearing before the Senate Banking Committee on Dec. 14, he reiterated his belief that the bankrupt crypto exchange was deliberately brought down by its rival, Binance.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn my view, my personal opinion, these two behemoths that own the unregulated market together and grew these incredible businesses in terms of growing were at war with each other, and one put the other out of business intentionally,\u201d O\u2019Leary said.<\/p>\n<p>One of the biggest uses of cash for FTX in the past, according to O\u2019Leary, was the purchase of Binance\u2019s 20 percent stake in the company.<\/p>\n<p>The TV host was paid $15 million by FTX to become a paid spokesperson for the company. O\u2019Leary purchased $9.7 million worth of various cryptocurrencies through the FTX exchange, investments he has since marked down to zero, he said during the CNBC interview.<\/p>\n<p>On Dec. 9, Zhao fired back, calling these statements \u201cbaseless,\u201d and accused O\u2019Leary of aligning himself with a \u201cfraudster.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe exited FTX 1.5 years ago,\u201d the Binance CEO wrote on Twitter.<\/p>\n<p>He went on to say that corporate profligacy of his rival, Sam Bankman-Fried, was the more likely cause of missing funds. \u201cFTX invested in a myriad of companies, totaling to $5.5+ billion,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOn top of that, FTX spent money on Miami Stadium, multiple Super Bowl ads, baseball referees, F1, not to mention massive political donations and luxury real-estate.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He was referring to the failed crypto exchange\u2019s blockbuster <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=hWMnbJJpeZc\">commercial<\/a> starring \u201cSeinfeld\u201d creator Larry David and the reportedly\u00a0$300 million, at least, in real estate that the company <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/tech\/crypto\/ftx-spent-300mln-bahamas-real-estate-substantial-assets-missing-lawyer-rcna58387\">purchased<\/a>\u00a0for senior staff as well as Bankman-Fried\u2019s parents.<\/p>\n<p>On Dec. 12, Bankman-Fried was arrested by Bahamas law enforcement\u00a0at the request of U.S. prosecutors. The 30-year-old entrepreneur was charged with eight criminal counts, including wire fraud, commodities fraud, securities fraud, money laundering, and fraud against the United States.<\/p>\n<p>In a rare public interaction between the two founders, Bankman-Fried <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SBF_FTX\/status\/1601191234034274304\">responded<\/a> to Zhao\u2019s accusations on Dec. 9, days before his arrest.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou won, @cz_binance. There\u2019s no need to lie,\u201d the FTX founder replied on Twitter.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe initiated conversations around buying you out, and we decided to do it because it was important for our business.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">You won, <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/cz_binance?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@cz_binance<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>There&#8217;s no need to lie, now, about the buyout.<\/p>\n<p>We initiated conversations around buying you out, and we decided to do it because it was important for our business.<\/p>\n<p>And while I was frustrated with your &#8216;negotiation&#8217; tactics, I chose to still do it.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 SBF (@SBF_FTX) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SBF_FTX\/status\/1601191234034274304?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">December 9, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Bankman-Fried also accused Zhao of overly aggressive negotiation tactics, claiming Zhao used his position to demand an extra $75 million at the last minute of the 2021 deal.<\/p>\n<h2>Binance Still a Mystery<\/h2>\n<p>Following the collapse of FTX, Binance is seeking to reassure customers about the safety of their holdings. Crypto exchange has started to release data to build trust, but the finances behind Zhao\u2019s exchange \u201cremain a mystery,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/binance-is-trying-to-calm-investors-but-its-finances-remain-a-mystery-11670679351\">according<\/a> to a Wall Street Journal article.<\/p>\n<p>Binance recently hired an outside accounting firm to create a \u201cproof of reserve report,\u201d disclosing some of the company\u2019s financials. Falling short of a full audit, the report predominantly denotes bitcoin-denominated assets and liabilities.<\/p>\n<p>A Binance\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.binance.com\/en\/support\/announcement\/binance-releases-proof-of-reserves-system-0c7a786cbe8c4e108f3301385ab61e39\">statement<\/a> in late November referenced some of the information as \u201caudit results.\u201d According to the article, Douglas Carmichael, former chief auditor of the U.S. Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, found the disclosure unsatisfactory.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI can\u2019t imagine it answers all the questions an investor would have about the sufficiency of collateralization,\u201d Carmichael said. \u201cIt is a gross misrepresentation to call this an audit.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"author_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"one_author_block round\">\n<div class=\"top_row\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/author-liam-cosgrove\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/LiamCosgrove_WEB.jpg\" alt=\"Liam Cosgrove\"   style=\"display:none\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Follow<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Liam Cosgrove works as a freelance journalist covering business, markets, and finance. He received his bachelor&#8217;s degree in mathematics from the University of California, Santa Barbara.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"author_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"one_author_block round\">\n<div class=\"top_row\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/author-emel-akan\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/15ef0812da90bd74_ttl7dayCNO_WEB_EmelAkan-1.jpg\" alt=\"Emel Akan\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Follow<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Emel Akan writes about business and economics. Previously she worked in the financial sector as an investment banker at JPMorgan. She graduated with a master\u2019s degree in business administration from Georgetown University.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>After the FTX collapse, Binance co-founder and CEO Changpeng Zhao is grappling with challenges on numerous fronts.As the industry deals with the high-profile fallout from FTX, billions of dollars are<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1732864,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[547],"tags":[7101,8369,5458,7385,7334,9495,3819],"class_list":["post-1777063","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-bongino-report","tag-anxiety","tag-binance","tag-bongino","tag-collapse","tag-ftx","tag-heightens","tag-report"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1777063","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1777063"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1777063\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1732864"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1777063"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1777063"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1777063"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}