Changpeng Zhao: Binance leads ‘rescue talks’ with more than 50 companies

The cryptocurrency exchange Binance intends to assist industry participants experiencing a small liquidity shortage, and is in talks with more than 50 companies. Bankless host Changpeng Zhao disclosed this on the podcast.

According to him, the crisis in the digital-asset market is driving consolidation in the sector — more successful players are seeking to take stakes in or acquire troubled projects.

On July 1, BlockFi chief Zac Prince said that FTX’s US subsidiary would extend a revolving credit facility of $400 million to the lending platform and receive an option to acquire the company for $240 million.

Zhao noted that Binance could have been first to seize the opportunity to acquire, but did not.

“The deals you see in the headlines usually come to us first. I am confident that we currently have the largest cash reserves,” he said.

The CEO said that the liquidity crisis in the market has increased deal-making in the United States. According to him, FTX’s US subsidiary has focused on local companies, while Binance has a more global reach.

He stressed that the exchanges are not competing on this issue. Zhao also repeated his thesis that ‘not all projects are worth saving’.

“We do not want to rescue companies that are poorly managed. We want to help market participants experiencing a small liquidity shortage to ride out this cycle. At the moment, we are in talks with more than 50 of them,” said the head of Binance.

In Zhao’s view, his organization feels comfortable in a bear market thanks to large cash reserves and an understanding of the cyclical nature of the market. The billionaire intends to use the situation to expand the ranks of specialists.

“By the end of the year, we want to bring the number of employees to 8,000,” he said.

Back in June 2022, Zhao said that the crypto winter was an appropriate time to expand the team and to develop the business further through various acquisitions.

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