According to a new report from CoinDesk, the Binance cryptocurrency exchange is unlikely to acquire FTX.
Yesterday, the CEOs of both Binance and FTX announced that they were looking to reach a deal in which Binance would acquire FTX to help clear FTX’s liquidity crunch and protect the exchange’s users. However, Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao stressed at the time that Binance had only signed a non-binding letter of intent, and that Binance “had the discretion to pull out of the deal at any time”.
Now, CoinDesk cites “a person familiar with the matter” as saying that Binance is unlikely to acquire FTX after viewing the company’s internal data and loan commitments. So far, Binance and FTX have not provided comments on the status of the discussions between the two companies.
The initial reception to the report has been negative, as the cryptocurrency markets could see increased instability and loss of confidence if Binance and FTX fail to reach a deal. Bitcoin is down 2% in the last hour, and briefly touched below the $17,000 price level. Ethereum has dropped by 4% in the same time period.
