Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) says he was never at war with Sam Bankman-Fried. He also notes that there are altcoin projects other than BTC and ETH that will make gains in the long run.
“We were not in a war with the SBF”
In his latest statements, Binance boss CZ states that Binance never saw FTX as a competitor. It also denies allegations that it is trying to divest FTT assets as a strategy against FTX.
When asked if he regrets dealing with FTX’s Sam Bankman-Fried, CZ says Binance has never entered any battle with SBF. If SBF sees the space as a battleground with Binance as its rival, CZ emphasizes that they never realized this as they never saw FTX as a competition. In this context, he makes the following statement:
We have never been at war with him (SBF). He may think he is at war with us. We didn’t even notice.
Did Binance decide to sell FTTs strategically?
However, he explains that Binance’s decision to sell its stake in FTX was triggered by revelations that SBF had disparaged themselves in DC and other political lobbying circles. He notes that Binance has decided to exit FTX equity in July 2021. Recall that this led the exchange to acquire $2.1 billion in Binance USD (BUSD) and FTX’s native token, FTT. This exit comes almost two years after Binance recorded an undisclosed amount of investment in FTX in December 2019.
Further, CZ states that the final decision to sell FTT is due to reports of an impending FTX bankruptcy. That’s why he says it’s not necessarily a strategy to take down an opponent. In this regard, he uses the following expressions:
That’s all we did. We have never been against them. We do not focus on other small exchanges. Focusing our energies there will not give us the best return. Helping the industry grow brings in more customers than attracting customers from other exchanges. That’s why Binance wants to grow the industry ‘along with other exchanges’.
Binance CEO does not believe in Bitcoin and Ethereum monopoly
Meanwhile, after the FTX debacle and the collapse of FTT, there are claims that Bitcoin and Ethereum are the only tokens that will survive at the end of the day. When asked what he thinks about it, CZ says he believes the crypto space is far from being the only money-taking industry. Based on this, he makes the following assessment:
If you look at the industry 5-10 years from now, the industry will be much, much bigger. I don’t think Bitcoin and Ethereum will be the only cryptocurrencies that will make a profit.
Despite the recent fiasco, CZ doesn’t think the industry is a house of cards. Underlining this situation, he says the field will grow. He also states that not only BTC and ETH, but several other projects currently being built will benefit from it.
CZ sought to address a Binance bankruptcy concern
Additionally, inquiries were made about Binance’s assets. CNBC’s Squawk Box host Becky Quick asked CZ how certain she was of the accuracy of the allegations made. In this context, she tried to understand where Binance got its notes and valuations.
All the way back to Kriptokoin.com, on November 11, when the FTX crash began to escalate, Binance’s assets came into the limelight. With $74.7 billion in assets, 40% of Binance’s assets were in BUSD and BNB. In response to Becky Quick’s question, CZ stated that assets refer to client assets, not Binance assets. In this regard, he made the following statement:
The assets we disclosed were 100% user assets. That means users hold that much BUSD on our platform. We do not do any conversions. It’s just kept as is.
On the other hand, questions have been raised about Binance’s holding of BUSD and BNB, as the FTX boom is dependent on the availability of the exchange’s own token, FTT, in illiquid assets. CZ said these assets are user assets. He also had to explain that there were no other tokens converted to BNB or BUSD. Trying to address any bankruptcy concerns, CZ added:
About a third of our internal operating funds are in stablecoins. We are still profitable. That’s why we don’t dig up our reserves for money.
CZ explains reason for withdrawal from FTX recovery package
CZ also explained why Binance decided to withdraw from the FTX recovery deal. CZ highlighted a few signs that are affecting the move. He said that the Binance team realized that SBF was lying to everyone, including its customers and investors. That’s why they can’t rely on more data, he noted. He also explained that FTX users have noticed that their funds have been massively misused. In this context, Binance CEO made the following statement:
We soon realized that they were misusing user funds. At that point, it was clear that he was lying to his users, investors, and employees.
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