'Fake News': Billionaire Hedge Funder Slams Report He May Bail Out FTX

Zinger Key Points
  • Dan Loeb denies Coindesk's report that he's interested in helping FTX.
  • With more potential investors shying away, could FTX be left for dead?

Sam Bankman-Fried has taken a quick fall from savior in the cryptocurrency sector to the one needing saving. It appears that for now, billionaire David Loeb of Third Point will not be the one stepping in to help.

'Fake News'? Coindesk reported Thursday that SBF had discussions with Loeb, crypto exchange OKX and other institutions regarding FTX’s dire debt situation. Coindesk also tweeted out the article, saying that Loeb was potentially interested in rescuing FTX with billions of dollars.

Loeb, the founder of Third Point, quickly dniedthe report on Twitter, calling it “fake news.” It’s unclear if Loeb is saying the report that he met with SBF is fake news, or just the notion that he might potentially front FTX billions of dollars. 

Coindesk's story has been updated to reflect that Loeb is "not providing FTX more money."

Sneaky Scheme? FTX reportedly used billions of dollars of customer funds to pay for risky bets from Alameda Research, SBF’s crypto hedge fund.

Sequoia Capital, an investor an FTX, has marked its investment in the company down to zero. 

Binance founder and CEO Changpeng Zhao, commonly referred to simply as "CZ," originally agreed to extend a lifeline to FTX and acquire the company, but backed out after reviewing FTX’s balance sheet.

SBF took to Twitter on Thursday to share his thoughts and express the fact that he is sorry. SBF may be forced to sell his shares of Robinhood Markets HOOD, which he got from a pre-IPO investment. 

The Last Word: Many in the crypto industry hope that someone is able to come in and help FTX stay afloat. If not, there could be a lot more pain and fear in the crypto markets in the near future.

Bitcoin BTC/USD- and crypto-related stocks traded significantly higher Thursday following a cooler-than-expected consumer price index report. Coinbase Global Inc COIN was trading up nearly 9% Thursday afternoon. 

Photo via Shutterstock. 

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