What the Hell Happened to FTX?

The world's largest exchange, Binance, is set to acquire its archrival, FTX, for an undisclosed amount after a surge in withdrawals left the company on the verge of collapse.

FTX was once thought to be in good shape thanks to the leadership of Sam Bankman- Fried. In January, the company raised $400 million from Softbank and others to reach a $32 billion valuation, and only last month it was talking about its own acquisition plans.

Yesterday, FTX suddenly suspended customer withdrawals, and the CEO of Binance, Changpeng Zhao, who goes by CZ, announced on social media that FTX had asked for our help.

Bankman-Fried said that customers' money is safe and they will be able to withdraw it in time. He thanked all of his supporters. CZ has done an amazing job of creating a freer economic world.

A year after the collapse of hedge fund Three Arrows Capital, lender Celsius, and the Terra-Luna stable coin, another high-profile failure was not needed. FTX was close.

The acquisition is still subject to due diligence and regulatory approval, and there are whispers that the acquisition may be reconsidered.

The name is "et tu."

The collapse began in July of last year, when an investor in FTX sold its stake in the rival exchange for more than two billion dollars. The move was seen as part of a split between Bankman- Fried and CZ, who had differing views on the approach to regulating.

The problems for FTX only came to the surface last week, when a report from CoinDesk showed that the balance sheet of FTX's sister company, Alameda Research, was in bad shape.

Questions were raised about FTX and Alameda's financial exposure to FTT, which can't be easily turned back into cash. The relationship between Alameda and FTX has not been described.

In response, CZ said that he would sell off his entire stake in the company. The announcement resulted in a steep drop in the price of FTT and a surge in withdrawals at FTX, as customers began to panic about the safety.

Bankman- Fried initially denied rumors of insolvency on November 7, saying that a competitor was trying to go after them. Since they have been deleted, these are the ones that have been mentioned. The company was trying to get a rescue.