Cryptocurrency exchange Binance intends to buy rival FTX

Binance has agreed to acquire cryptocurrency exchange FTX amid growing investor panic, fearing that FTX is unable to maintain the required level of liquidity.

Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao announced the upcoming deal on Twitter, revealing that the two giants of the crypto industry have signed a letter of intent. The head of Binance clarified that the initiative came from the head of FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried, who turned to Zhao for help in overcoming the liquidity crisis. The agreement is non-binding, meaning the parties have the right to change their mind.

This afternoon, FTX asked for our help. There is a significant liquidity crunch. To protect users, we signed a non-binding LOI, intending to fully acquire https://t.co/BGtFlCmLXB and help cover the liquidity crunch. We will be conducting a full DD in the coming days.

— CZ Binance (@cz_binance) November 8, 2022

The news caused FTT, FTX's native token, to surge in 20% from around $14.50 to $17.50. In turn, the Binance BNB token rose in price by 8%, from $326 to $355.

Bankman-Fried and Zhao said that a full due diligence on FTX's financial health will be initiated in the next couple of days. Then a joint decision will be made on the timing and procedure for the FTX exchange purchase procedure by Binance.

1) Hey all: I have a few announcements to make.

Things have come full circle, and https://t.co/DWPOotRHcX's first, and last, investors are the same: we have come to an agreement on a strategic transaction with Binance for https://t.co/DWPOotRHcX (pending DD etc.).

— SBF (@SBF_FTX) November 8, 2022

Against the backdrop of concerns about the financial condition of FTX, investors began to massively withdraw
bitcoins, as a result of which the balance of the crypto exchange in this asset became almost equal to zero. According to the Coinglass service, about 20,000 BTC have been withdrawn from FTX over the past 24 hours.

Earlier Tuesday, November 8, received
information that the FTX cryptocurrency exchange has stopped processing customer withdrawal requests.