Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) and Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), the founder of the collapsed crypto exchange FTX, have taken to Twitter to squabble after CZ accused SBF of trying to depeg USDT through his affiliate company Alameda Research.
CZ Blasts Kevin O’Leary for Defending SBF
Binance CEO shared his displeasure on Twitter about American celebrity investor Kevin O’Leary’s recent interview, where he publicly endorsed the disgraced CEO.
CZ claimed that the $15 million O’Leary received from SBF to promote FTX has changed his negative stance against digital assets and made him align with a fraudster, referring to Bankman-Fried.
It seems $15m not only changed @kevinolearytv’s mind about crypto, it also made him align with a fraudster. Is he seriously defending SBF?https://t.co/JoKapOcMXr (baseless attacks start around 4:20).
A thread. 1/11
— CZ ???? Binance (@cz_binance) December 9, 2022
The Binance boss also disclosed that the company left FTX in July 2021. He further stated that SBF was “unhinged” when Binance decided to pull out as an investor, that he “launched offensive tirades at multiple employees” and even threatened to make the company pay for leaving.
CZ said that Bankman-Fried started investing in “friends in high places,” including media, policymakers, and celebrities like O’Leary.
Recall that the disgraced CEO became a media darling after heavily participating in bailing out financially distressed firms during the Terra (LUNA) fiasco in May. He also emerged as the second-largest donor in the last U.S. election cycle, with more than $45 million in donations to the Democratic Party.
The Binance boss claimed that SBF used the network he acquired after the investments to manipulate public opinion in the industry.
CZ also pointed out that O’Leary is looking for someone to blame for the collapse of the $32 billion valued crypto giant, which erased billions of dollars from the space after filing for bankruptcy on November 11 alongside its 130 affiliates.
SBF Responds to CZ Tweets
In response to the CZ’s tweets, SBF noted that the Binance chief had “won” while asking him to stop lying about the specifics of the failed buyout deal.
You won, @cz_binance.
There’s no need to lie, now, about the buyout.
We initiated conversations around buying you out, and we decided to do it because it was important for our business.
And while I was frustrated with your ‘negotiation’ tactics, I chose to still do it.
— SBF (@SBF_FTX) December 9, 2022
According to the FTX founder, CZ threatened to withdraw the acquisition at the last minute if the company failed to release an additional $75 million.
Recall that Binance said at the time that it backed out of the acquisition arrangement after investigating FTX’s financial strength. SBF claimed that Binance CZ knew about this, yet he lied.
He further noted that Binance did not have the right to pull out of the deal as an investor unless the company decided to buy out the firm because the tokens were still locked.
In the early days of the FTX debacle, Binance revealed that the company intends to sell out $580 million worth of its FTT holdings it received from FTX in 2021
