Cryptocurrency exchange Binance has signed a non-binding letter of intent (LOI), intending to fully acquire the FTX exchange.
This will help to solve FTX's "liquidity crunch," according to Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao.
FTX boss Sam Bankman-Fried says that things have now come "full circle" given that Binance will be the exchange's first and last investor.
The terms of the deal have not been disclosed. Binance says can withdraw from the deal "at any time" after rescuing its crypto rival. Zhao says that his company will have to do some due diligence before closing the deal.
Bankman-Fried claims that the development can potentially benefit the entire industry. He also praised Zhao for doing "an incredible job of building out the global crypto ecosystem" and "creating a freer economic world."
The crypto mogul says that the exchange is currently working on clearing out the withdrawal backlog after users started complaining about not being able to withdraw their funds.
Over the weekend, Zhao tweeted that Binance had decided to offload all of its FTT tokens after speculation started to emerge about the financial difficulties of Alameda Research, the trading firm linked to FTX.
After it appeared that there was a feud between the two exchanges, Bankman-Fried now says that FTX is "in the best hands."
The FTX (FTT) token has surged more than 22% on the acquisition deal. In the meantime, Bitcoin has recovered above the $20,000 level. Meanwhile, the BNB token is also up 19.58%.
Vladislav Sopov
Tomiwabold Olajide
Yuri Molchan