Sam Bankman-Fried Amid FTT Debacle: FTX Has Over $1 Billion Excess Cash, Client Assets Are Safe

Summary:

• FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried stressed that the crypto exchange is not insolvent despite rumors.
• Speculations arose after Binance CEO Chanpgeng Zhao tweeted that the leading exchange will exit its positions for FTT, the native token of FTX.
• SBF tweeted on Monday that his crypto exchange and client assets are “fine”.

Sam Bankman-Fried tweeted on Monday to assure FTX users that their funds and the crypto exchange remain out of immediate financial constraints following Binance boss Changpeng Zhao’s announcement about FTT.

CZ’s tweet revealing Binance’s decision to exit the FTX utility token dubbed FTT has seemingly stirred a hornet’s nest, with FUD flooding social media and speculation that SBF’s crypto exchange might battle financial difficulties soon. 

“A competitor is trying to go after us with false rumors.” said Bankman-Fried in his opening tweet

SBF further responded to the news by saying that “FTX is fine” and extended the same remark to user funds on the crypto exchange. The Bahamas-based billionaire added that the digital asset exchange continues to process client withdrawals regardless of delays that emerged.

2) FTX has enough to cover all client holdings.

We don't invest client assets (even in treasuries).

We have been processing all withdrawals, and will continue to be.

Some details on withdrawal speed: https://t.co/tSjhJW3JlI

(banks and nodes can be slow)

— SBF (@SBF_FTX) November 7, 2022

Monday’s thread hinted that regulations and ongoing holdings audits might also contribute to delayed withdrawals. SBF stressed that the company has more than $1 billion in excess cash. The FTX CEO tweeted that he hopes to “work together for the ecosystem.” with CZ and Binance.

4) I'd love it, @cz_binance, if we could work together for the ecosystem.

— SBF (@SBF_FTX) November 7, 2022

FTT Price At $22 As Sam Bankman-Fried Appeals For Binance Collaboration

Data from TradingView showed the FTT coin traded around $22 despite uncertainty supposedly triggered by the latest development from CZ. The Binance CEO disclosed plans to exit FTT positions are part of a risk management strategy, per tweets shared over the weekend.

At press time, FTT price was down some 2% but the token’s trading volume exploded over 190% in 24 hours according to CoinMarketCap.

CZ also shared more insight on the decision, saying “we won’t support people who lobby against other industry players behind their backs”. Notably, Sam Bankman-Fried has invested heavily in U.S. politics and candidates, per reports. SBF has also reportedly made several appearances in Washington tied to crypto regulatory conversations.

As part of Binance’s exit from FTX equity last year, Binance received roughly $2.1 billion USD equivalent in cash (BUSD and FTT). Due to recent revelations that have came to light, we have decided to liquidate any remaining FTT on our books. 1/4

— CZ 🔶 Binance (@cz_binance) November 6, 2022

Liquidating our FTT is just post-exit risk management, learning from LUNA. We gave support before, but we won't pretend to make love after divorce. We are not against anyone. But we won't support people who lobby against other industry players behind their backs. Onwards.

— CZ 🔶 Binance (@cz_binance) November 6, 2022