On Tuesday afternoon Changpeng Zhao, chief executive of the world’s largest crypto exchange, picked up the phone to his one-time partner turned arch rival Sam Bankman-Fried. He was ready to negotiate a $600mn truce in a public feud that had rocked the crypto industry.
But Zhao swiftly decided to throw a lifeline to FTX, Bankman-Fried’s company and the chief challenger to his own, Binance, in the fierce competition to dominate the offshore market in risky and complex digital asset trading. FTX had been swamped by customers demanding their money back, and urgently needed billions of dollars to stay afloat. Zhao agreed to rescue FTX and acquire his rival.
But, only a day later, he abandoned the deal. On Friday Bankman-Fried’s $32bn empire filed for bankruptcy in the US.