Sam Bankman-Fried crypto exchange, FTX is rumored to be in talks to purchase the South Korean crypto exchange platform, Bithumb. According to Bloomberg’s insider sources, both exchanges have been in conversation regarding the acquisition for several months. Nevertheless, neither confirmed the news.
While a Bithumb spokesperson said that they “cannot confirm anything at this stage”, the spokesperson for FTX declined to comment on the subject altogether. Following this, it is not the first takeover by FTX during the crypto crash. Bankman-Fried is preparing to become the dominant player in the digital assets arena by buying companies that are struggling due to the ongoing bear period.
FTX Acquires BlockFi
At the beginning of this month, FTX closed the much-anticipated deal with BlockFi and took over the crypto lending platform amid dire liquidity issues. FTX bought BlockFi for $240 million, based on performance triggers. The deal also encompassed a $400 million revolving line of credit facility, subordinate to all client funds. Furthermore, all the assets together with other potential considerations came up to a total value worth $680 million.
BlockFi CEO, Zac Prince took to Twitter to announce the acquisition while also arguing that this came as a move to prioritize investor protection. He noted “As a matter of principle, we fundamentally believe in protecting client funds. Not only because it’s absolutely the right thing to do, but this also benefits the ongoing health and adoption of crypto financial services worldwide. Therefore, it was important to add capital to our balance sheet to bolster liquidity and protect client funds”.
Additionally, he claimed that any alternatives that were not in favor of the user were “completely unacceptable” and were directly in conflict with the company’s core value of “Clients not Customers” as well as the interests of BlockFi and our shareholders. In light of this, BlockFi ultimately, partnered with FTX to resolve the said liquidity issues and ascertain that customer funds were given utmost priority.