Binance Co-Founder & CEO, Changpeng Zhao, has responded to several interviews discussing the cryptocurrency’s prospects after a tumultuous few weeks in the market.
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More than a month after the fall of FTXinvestors’ interest in cryptocurrency exchanges Binance does not fade.
by Binance The native token, BNB, has fallen 15% in the past week, including a drop of more than 6% in the past 24 hours. BNB, first minted in 2017, is The fifth most valuable cryptocurrency in the world, with a market cap of about $39 billion, according to CoinMarketCap. It’s just behind bitcoin, etherumtether and USD Coin.
The latest issue to surface on Binance is FTX’s bankruptcy proceedings. Binance is the first outside investor in FTX. When it exited its equity position in the company last year, Binance received the equivalent of a payout of about $2.1 billion.
In an interview with “ink potOn Thursday, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao dismissed concerns that his company could have those funds revoked as FTX passes bankruptcy court and the trustees seek to get their real estate back. any amount. fraudulent shipping made by FTX for businesses or outside investors.
“We’re fine financially,” Zhao said, after being asked by CNBC’s Becky Quick if the company could meet the $2.1 billion in demand.
Cryptocurrency investors have become skeptical of comments from top executives about their companies’ financial health. FTX founder and former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried said on Twitter that his company’s assets are fine, even as executives know it is in the midst of an eventual liquidity crunch. forcing the exchange to go bankrupt. Bankman-Fried was arrested this week in the Bahamas and charge by US prosecutors for fraud and money laundering.
Withdrawal requests are another area of concern. Zhao said that about $1.14 billion in net withdrawals took place on Tuesday, but tweeted that this is “not the highest withdrawal we’ve handled, not even the top [five].” On Wednesday, he said the situation was “stable.” Blockchain analytics firm Nansen said withdrawal number on Tuesday reached a peak of $3 billion.
A spokesperson for Binance told CNBC in a statement that, “we passed this extreme stress test because we run a very simple business model – store assets and create revenue from transaction fees.” The spokesperson did not immediately respond to a question about the drop in BNB.
Binance and FTX is intimately connected. Zhao publicly stated last month that his company is liquidate its position in the FTTnative currency of FTX, amid concerns surrounding the solvency of both FTX and its sister exchange, Alameda Research.
FTX then faced an immediate increase in withdrawal demand and Binance intervened with a non-binding agreement to acquire the company as part of a rescue plan. A day later, Binance Support out of the agreement, saying that “FTX’s problems are beyond our control or ability to help.”
Like all major crypto projects and companies, Binance has developed its own currency. Above it website, the company says people can “use BNB to pay for goods and services, pay transaction fees on Binance Smart Chain, participate in exclusive token sales, and more.” The website states that the areas where BNB can be used include payments, travel and entertainment.
According to CoinMarketCap, there is a circulating supply of around 160 million BNB out of a maximum total supply of 200 million. Bloomberg reports in June that the SEC was investigating whether the 2017 token sale was an offering security that should have been registered with regulators.
— MacKenzie Sigalos of CNBC contributed to this report.
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