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Amid Crypto Winter, Binance Looking at '50 to 100 Acquisitions

source-logo  coinnounce.com 05 July 2022 09:17, UTC

Firms are having difficulties due to a sharp sell-off in cryptocurrencies in recent weeks, and some of the biggest players in the sector have stepped in to assist.

According to Changpeng Zhao, founder, and chief operating officer of cryptocurrency exchange Binance, “We’re seeing that a handful of organizations are insolvent, but it’s a small percentage in the overall scheme of things.” Zhao made the statement on Yahoo Finance Live. Industry insider Zhao, often known as “CZ,” claimed that Binance is presently “looking at 50 to 100 deals.”

But according to CZ, the term “bailout” is overused, and these transactions aren’t necessarily bailouts.

“We do examine stressed assets, including insolvent businesses, and we’d like to assist them through loans, minority investments, or even majority acquisitions,” according to CZ. “Everything on that list is on the table.” Binance has already completed “quite a number” acquisitions, CZ continued.

The business sees “a lot of changes in the industry” for M&A, employment, and reduced trading costs after its U.S. affiliate started offering zero-fee bitcoin trading last week.

Other crypto biggies are lending their hand amid the Crypto Winter

Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of FTX, has emerged in recent weeks as the sector’s most active player, providing financial assistance to troubled businesses. Some have compared his efforts to the cryptocurrency equivalent of Warren Buffett’s choices in 2008 during the Financial Crisis.

BlockFi, a cryptocurrency lender, has received a $250 million credit line from FTX. In the meantime, a Canadian cryptocurrency broker has agreed to terms with Bankman-trading Fried’s company Alameda Research for a revolving credit line of $200 million in cash/USDC and 15,000 in BTC, for a total of $519 million at the time of writing based on the price of one bitcoin.

Voyager had accessed $75 million of the loan as of this writing and had sent notice of default to cryptocurrency hedge fund Three Arrows Capital, reportedly on the verge of insolvency. According to a statement by Voyager, the default does not violate their agreement with Alameda.

Following a year of unheard-of growth, several cryptocurrency companies, including Robinhood, Gemini, BlockFi, Crypto.com, Coinbase, and Bitpanda, have lowered growth expectations and laid off staff. Even more concerning, certain companies, like Babel Finance, Coinflex, Voyager Digital, and most notably, the cryptocurrency lender Celsius, are restricting withdrawals or outright blocking customer accounts.

Contrary to FTX, Binance hasn’t yet disclosed the specifics of any company transactions. According to CZ, some companies “may or may not want to confess that they are close to bankruptcy.”

“We don’t need to advertise because everyone knows we have the highest cash reserve in the sector,” CZ continued.

coinnounce.com