Crypto exchange FTX saw $6 billion in withdrawals in 72 hours – Message from CEO to staff

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Crypto exchange FTX saw around $6 billion in withdrawals in the 72 hours to Tuesday morning, according to a message to staff sent by its CEO Sam Bankman-Fried that was seen by Reuters.

In a surprise move, Changpeng Zhao, boss of arch-rival Binance, said on Tuesday that the company had signed a non-binding agreement to buy FTX’s non-US unit, FTX.com, to help cover a » liquidity” at FTX.

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“On an average day, we have tens of millions of dollars in net inflows/outflows. Things were mostly average until this weekend a few days ago,” Bankman wrote- Fried in a message to staff sent Tuesday morning.

« Over the past 72 hours, we have had approximately $6 billion in net withdrawals from FTX, » he wrote, adding that withdrawals from FTX’s main unit, FTX.com, are « effectively suspended. « , a problem that would be solved in the « near future. »

« Most of the details (of the deal) are still unclear, » he wrote, adding that he didn’t have a « definitive answer » to questions such as « what exactly is the deal » and « which entities would it include ». ”

FTX did not immediately respond to a request for comment. (Reporting by Angus Berwick in New York and Tom Wilson in London Editing by Jan Harvey and Matthew Lewis)