Some third-tier Bitcoin exchanges are close to bankruptcy. This was stated in an interview with Forbes by FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried.
The billionaire said that he recognizes the risks of providing liquidity to BlockFi and Voyager Digital, which faced problems as a result of the possible collapse of the hedge fund Three Arrows Capital.
“We are willing to strike a partly bad deal if that’s what it takes to stabilise the situation and protect clients,” — he explained.
According to the publication’s sources, in the deal with Voyager, Alameda Research, linked to Bankman-Fried, could lose at least $70 million. The current market capitalization of the crypto broker points to bankruptcy risks.
The head of FTX is far from altruistic and is not prepared to “save” all troubled companies.
“Some of them have gone too far. It is not sensible to back them in the event of a significant balance-sheet hole, regulatory headwinds, or because there isn’t that much business left that can be saved,” Bankman-Fried explained.
The entrepreneur is concerned about ongoing problems in the industry due to the entrenched practice of paying generous deposit yields, which worked during the bull market. Firms lent at higher rates or used funds in DeFi protocols, but that is no longer working.
Rapid growth has also been characteristic of miners, who are of interest to the FTX chief.
Speculation about a Tether crash Bankman-Fried called baseless.
“I don’t think there is any evidence to support it,” he explained.
Earlier this week the FTX chief refuted information about plans to acquire the online broker Robinhood.
In May, Bankman-Fried said the exchange will spend ‘billions’ of dollars on acquiring stakes in other companies to expand its product lineup.
Earlier, a similar thesis about the futility of saving “bad companies”was put forward by Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao.
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