[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Jung-yoon] Regarding reports that the cryptocurrency exchange FTX, led by American billionaire in his 30s Sam Bankman-Fried, is pursuing the acquisition of the domestic exchange Bithumb, Bithumb stated that it is difficult to confirm.
On the 23rd, a Bithumb official told Asia Economy in a phone call, "There is no information we can confirm." Earlier, Bloomberg News cited an anonymous source involved in the acquisition negotiations, reporting, "FTX is conducting advanced negotiations to acquire Bithumb," and "The two companies have been discussing the acquisition issue for several months."
FTX attempted to acquire management rights by providing emergency funds to some coin lending companies facing liquidity crises due to the cryptocurrency price crash this year. Headquartered in the Bahamas, FTX's market value is estimated at $32 billion (approximately 41.92 trillion KRW).
Sam Bankman-Fried, CEO and founder of FTX, majored in physics and mathematics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), worked in the financial industry, and then founded FTX, joining the ranks of cryptocurrency billionaires. According to Forbes, his net worth is $20.5 billion.
This is not the first time acquisition rumors about Bithumb have surfaced. Since 2018, several merger and acquisition (M&A) rumors involving NXC, Wemade, and others have been raised but all fell through.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
