- With a $9 billion shortfall to fill, FTX is fighting for survival.
- El Salvador last year approved Bitcoin legal money in the Central American nation.
According to Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, the president of El Salvador today reassured citizens that their country’s cryptocurrency assets were not on the failing exchange FTX.
On Thursday, the CEO of the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world tweeted that he had spoken to President Nayib Bukele, who had denied using FTX to hold Bitcoin. There have been rumors this morning that the Salvadoran government may have exposure to FTX, the cryptocurrency exchange at the center of the market’s catastrophic collapse this week.
Mike Novogratz Apologized
It was said that Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz started the notion when he questioned in a CNBC interview whether or not the government has exposure to FTX. Later, billionaire tech investor Mike Novogratz said he was “a huge fan” of what President Bukele was doing in El Salvador and apologized for being misled by “fake news.”
Mike stated:
Apologies to @nayibbukele and the people of El Salvador. I fell for ‘fake news’ and while I mentioned I hadn’t confirmed it, I should have. Thanks @cz_binance for pointing it out. I am a huge fan of what you are doing in El Salvador.
This week, reports broke that the prominent cryptocurrency exchange FTX was close to bankruptcy due to a lack of cash flow. Binance, the exchange’s competitor, then said it would acquire it, only to back out of the agreement the next day. With a $9 billion shortfall to fill, FTX is fighting for survival.
Despite criticism from several U.S. organizations, El Salvador last year approved Bitcoin legal money in the Central American nation. The head of state has made many public announcements of Bitcoin-buying rampages, but the number of coins held by the government and where they are kept remain unknown.
