SoftBank and BlackRock among FTX investors in the dark over Binance deal

by Adam Morgan McCarthy

Exchanges • November 9, 2022, 6:05AM EST

UPDATED: November 15, 2022, 6:31PM EST

The Block

Quick Take

CEO Sam Bankman-Fried apologized to investors on Tuesday for a lack of communication on a potential buyout deal with Binance.
Some of FTX’s most prominent investors include SoftBank, BlackRock, and Ontario Teachers Pension plan.

Binance's agreement to acquire FTX.com has left some of the world's largest investors in the dark.

Beleaguered FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried wrote to investors on Tuesday, apologizing for his lack of communication, adding that the details of a non-binding agreement for Binance to buy FTX.com haven't been finalized.

"I wish I had more details for you guys right now; I don't yet," he said, adding that he would be "quite swamped" over the coming days, and that Ramnik Arora, FTX head of product, would answer any questions.

Backers of the exchange up to now have included: BlackRock, Ontario Teachers Pension Plan, Sequoia, Paradigm, Tiger Global, SoftBank, Circle, Ribbit Capital, Alan Howard, Multicoin Capital, VanEck and Temasek, among others, according to The Block Research.

Source: The Block Research

FTX raised a $400 million Series A at an $8 billion valuation in January of this year. SoftBank, Ontario Teachers Pension Plan and Tiger Global joined this round. All of these funds also joined FTX's October 2021 fundraise.

Some investors have spoken out already. Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire compared the FTX crisis to the Lehman Brothers collapse in 2008.

"Finally, as someone who's been involved in this industry for 10 years, it is disappointing that a technology that was spawned in reaction to the Lehman Brothers moment of 2008 has given rise to its own version of the same," he said.

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.

About Author

Adam Morgan is a reporter covering cryptocurrency, financial markets, and economics – anything from price movements, earnings reports, and inflation to the U.S. Federal Reserve interest rate decisions and everything in between. Adam is based in London.