Cryptocurrencies tumble as Binance abandons FTX bailout plans

New York, The Gulf Observer: FTX head Sam Bankman-Fried said on Thursday he was “exploring all the options”, but fading hopes for rescue left FTX teetering. A message on the FTX website said: “FTX is currently unable to process withdrawals. We strongly advise against depositing.”

Cryptocurrency markets have nursed heavy losses with bitcoin pinned near a two-year low as investors fretted about the fallout from the implosion of crypto exchange FTX.

FTX head Sam Bankman-Fried said on Thursday he was “exploring all the options”, but fading hopes for rescue left FTX teetering. A message on the FTX website said: “FTX is currently unable to process withdrawals. We strongly advise against depositing.”

Larger rival Binance walked away from a bailout deal on Wednesday.Focus is on the unknown size of customer losses and the hit to sentiment from the latest and possibly largest collapse in an industry that has turned into a minefield for investors.FTX’s native token, FTT is down 90 percent this week and was attempting to steady around $2 – not terribly far above its record low around $1.50.

Bitcoin fell below $16,000 for the first time since late 2020 overnight and was last at $16,435.Binance backed out of a non-binding offer to buy FTX after due diligence. Another exchange, OKX, said it was also approached by Bankman-Fried this week, who described liabilities of $7 billion that needed covering quickly.”Even Elon Musk would not be able to commit to a deal with $7 billion liability within a few hours of negotiations. That was too much for us,” Lennix Lai, director of financial markets at OKX told Reuters news agency.”(It) is a big hole to plug,” he added. “The dagger will continue to hang over the crypto market, as long as the outlook of FTX’s fate remains unclear.”

The Wall Street Journal reported that Bankman-Fried told investors FTX needed $8 billion to cover withdrawals. FTX did not respond to a request for comment.