WASHINGTON: Crypto giant Binance signed a nonbinding agreement to buy rival FTX’s non-US unit, FTX.com, to help cover a “liquidity crunch” at the cryptocurrency exchange, the companies said on Tuesday, in a surprise move that raised fresh concerns about the risks investors face in the volatile crypto market.

Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao tweeted that FTX, run by billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried, had “asked for our help” after “a significant liquidity crunch.”

He said Binance will be conducting due diligence in the coming days as the next step toward an acquisition of FTX.com. The US operations of Binance and FTX are not part of the deal, Bankman-Fried said in a separate tweet. The deal comes after the in-house token of crypto exchange FTX slumped, losing one-third of its value and dragging down other major digital assets, amid talk of pressure on FTX’s financials.

Binance is currently under investigation by the US Justice Department into possible violations of money-laundering rules.

Published in Dawn, November 9th, 2022

Opinion

Editorial

Anti-women state
Updated 25 Nov, 2024

Anti-women state

GLOBALLY, women are tormented by the worst tools of exploitation: rape, sexual abuse, GBV, IPV, and more are among...
IT sector concerns
25 Nov, 2024

IT sector concerns

PRIME Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s ambitious plan to increase Pakistan’s IT exports from $3.2bn to $25bn in the ...
Israel’s war crimes
25 Nov, 2024

Israel’s war crimes

WHILE some powerful states are shielding Israel from censure, the court of global opinion is quite clear: there is...
Short-changed?
Updated 24 Nov, 2024

Short-changed?

As nations continue to argue, the international community must recognise that climate finance is not merely about numbers.
Overblown ‘threat’
24 Nov, 2024

Overblown ‘threat’

ON the eve of the PTI’s ‘do or die’ protest in the federal capital, there seemed to be little evidence of the...
Exclusive politics
24 Nov, 2024

Exclusive politics

THERE has been a gradual erasure of the voices of most marginalised groups from Pakistan’s mainstream political...