Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX May Buy South Korean Crypto Exchange Bithumb: Report

This crypto winter, rumors of FTX rescuing or acquiring struggling crypto companies have spread – and now South Korean crypto exchange Bithumb is said to be on FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried’s shopping list.

According to a report from Bloomberg, FTX is in late negotiations to potentially acquire Bithumb, which has over 8 million registered users. The talks are said to have gone on for “several months”.

When asked to confirm or deny the report, an FTX representative said Decrypt “no comment.” Bithumb has yet to respond Decryptits request for comment.

Despite seeing over $1 trillion in total traded volume on the exchange, Bithumb has struggled on and off over the years. Back in 2020, Bithumb faced a number of issues lawsuit and Huobi was reportedly looking to acquire it but never did.

Last month, FTX acquired Canadian crypto exchange Bitvo. In a statementBankman-Fried said the purchase was made “to expand FTX’s global reach.”

“Our expansion into Canada is another step in proactively working with cryptocurrency regulators in different geographies around the world,” added Bankman-Fried.

FTX is also in the process of buying troubled lender BlockFi in a 680 million dollars credit and acquisition agreement.

And in June, rumors swirled that FTX was also in talks to buy a trading platform Robin HoodWHO laid off 9% of employees back in April due to reduced growth. Bankman-Fried has since denied the reports.

That said, it makes sense that FTX could be looking to buy crypto companies at a discount during this bear market. Bankman-Fried said earlier this month that FTX still has “a few billion” which can be used to stabilize other crypto companies. In theory, these funds can also be used to buy them outright.

While it is unclear whether Bankman-Fried’s exchange will actually buy Bithumb, FTX is clearly working to fulfill what they believe is “responsibility” to stabilize the crypto industry at large in this troubled time.

In the wake of Celsius and Voyager Digital bankruptcy filings, frightened retail investors have been unable to access or withdraw their money.

In response, Bankman-Fried said Friday that he is “happy to do what we can” to help Voyager’s customers by providing liquidity to the insolvent firm.

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