On Friday, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) and former FTX head Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) sparred with one another on Twitter, each defending the legitimacy of their own business dealings behind closed doors.
CZ was challenged by Bankman-Fried who asked the former the reason for “lying” about the status of FTX after the exchange’s bankruptcy. SBF stated that Zhao had already “won.”
The Binance executive commenced by mentioning Kevin O’Leary’s recent statements. In his interview with CNBC, “Mr. Wonderful” suggested that FTX spent a significant portion of its money trying to purchase back its equity from Binance because of the “opaque” ownership held by the latter.
O’Leary, an early investor in FTX, was given $15 million in August 2021 to promote the company’s brand. Recently, O’Leary said that he lost all his investments in the FTX meltdown.
CZ also claimed that Binance started divesting from SBF and Alameda on ethical concerns. He states:
“As an early investor in FTX, we became increasingly uncomfortable with Alameda/SBF and initiated the exit process more than 1.5 years ago.”
According to Binance’s CEO, this prompted SBF to lash out at Binance with “unhinged” rants in which he vowed to “go to extraordinary lengths” to punish the exchange.
“We still have those text messages,” CZ stated.
It was his response to FTX launching a massive investment campaign among “friends in high places,” in an effort to sway public opinion in favor of FTX and against its opponents.
CZ made presumptions that FTX was working to undermine rival cryptocurrency exchanges through legislative lobbying in November.
Tom Emmer, a representative from Minnesota, claimed later that he had discovered that SBF and the SEC were working together to give FTX a regulatory monopoly in the exchange market. Notably, in a recent interview, CZ expressed remorse over his delayed post that ultimately resulted in SBF’s exchange’s downfall.
FTX CEO Backs Kevin O’Leary’s Words
However, contrary to CZ’s claims, SBF claimed that his firm had initiated discussions with Binance about buying out the stakes, mirroring his words to Kevin O’Leary. Additionally, he stated that Binance had no legal grounds to withdraw as an investor unless FTX agreed to be bought out freely.
