Bankman-Fried apologizes to FTX investors for lack of communication over Binance deal

Quick Take

  • Customers remain chief among the priories of FTX followed by shareholders, CEO Sam Bankman-Fried said in an email to investors.

FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried appeared to apologize to investors over a lack of communication about its financial deal with Binance in a letter to investors cited by numerous sources on Twitter.

Details of a non-binding agreement for Binance to buy FTX.com are still being hashed out, the letter said.

"I'm sorry I've been hard to contact the last few days," Bankman-Fried wrote in the email, noting that protecting customers is chief among the exchange’s priorities, followed by the interests of shareholders.

“I wish I had more details for you guys right now; I don’t yet,” Bankman-Fried wrote, noting that as details are still forthcoming he is likely to be “quite swamped for the next few days” and that “Ramnik and others will be around," referring to Ramnik Arora, head of product at FTX.

The CEO's address to investors comes as FTX.com struggles to come to terms with the collapse of its native FTT token, and a run on the exchange that caused it to stop processing withdrawals earlier Tuesday. Binance stepped in and said it would buy FTX.com amid the token's downturn, shocking markets and ultimately sending crypto assets overall lower.

FTT is down more than 80% since Sunday when Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao said he would sell his FTT holdings.

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FTTUSD chart from TradingView.

Although a bailout from Binance may be in the works, without the terms ironed out and the deal set in stone, FTX investors may still be in a precarious position. 


Disclaimer: The former CEO and majority shareholder of The Block has disclosed a series of loans from former FTX and Alameda founder Sam Bankman-Fried.

© 2023 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

About Author

Jeremy Nation is a senior reporter at The Block covering the greater blockchain ecosystem. Prior to joining The Block, Jeremy worked as a product content specialist at Bullish and Block.one. He also served as a reporter for ETHNews. Follow him on Twitter @ETH_Nation.

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