The former FTX CEO charged that CZ lied about his involvement in the purchase and claimed that Binance “threatened to walk at the last minute” without an additional $75 million.
Changpeng Zhao, the CEO of Binance, and Sam Bankman-Fried, the former CEO of FTX, also known as SBF, have shared additional information regarding the failed agreement between the exchanges amid FTX’s liquidity problem in November.
CZ called Bankman-Fried a “fraudster” on Twitter on December 9 and claimed that Binance left FTX in July 2021 because it was “increasingly uncomfortable with Alameda/SBF.” The Binance CEO claimed that SBF was “unhinged” at the exchange leaving, which prompted an online response from the former FTX CEO.
Bankman-Fried criticized CZ for publicly reprimanding FTX and provided information on the negotiations between the exchanges during FTX’s alleged “liquidity crunch” in November, just before the company filed for bankruptcy.
The former FTX CEO claimed that Binance “threatened to walk at the last minute” without an additional $75 million, accusing CZ of lying about his role in the deal, but SBF said at the time that FTX had reached a “strategic transaction” with CZ. Binance later withdrew after looking at the exchange’s balance sheets.
“You didn’t even have the rights to pull out as an investor unless we chose to buy you out–much of the tokens/equity were still locked,” SBF addressed CZ as he spoke.
CZ answered back in kind:
“Sam, not that it matters now. You also can’t force us to sell if we don’t want to. Also, we have the veto right to block any further fundraising you were doing. Never used or mentioned it. It was never a competition or fight. No one won […] Don’t try to tell your friends to focus on us. Focus on yourself. You should have learned that by now.”
Earlier, members of the US House Finance Services Committee requested Bankman-participation Fried’s in a hearing on FTX’s demise. SBF first stated he would hold off on testifying until he had “finished learning and reviewing what transpired,” but after committee leadership threatened a subpoena, SBF tweeted that he would be “ready to appear” on December 13.
Despite his apparent attempts to postpone meetings with officials to discuss the circumstances that led to FTX’s demise, Bankman-Fried has not shied away from speaking with various media outlets for interviews. SBF has repeatedly apologized in public for his part in the collapse of the exchange after FTX Group filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on November 11.