Bloomberg learned about FTX's talks to buy Bithumb

Sam Bankman-Fried-owned cryptocurrency exchange FTX is in preliminary negotiations to purchaseSouth Korean platform Bithumb. It is reported by Bloomberg, citing an anonymous source.

According to him, the companies have been discussing “something confidential for several months now.”

“At this stage, we can’t confirm anything,” a Bithumb spokesperson told the agency.

FTX declined to comment.

In September 2020, Seoul police conducted a series of searches at Bithumb offices and seized part of the shares of Bithumb Holdings owned by Bithumb Korea director Kim Byung-gyong.

At the same time, the CEO of the exchange, Lee Jong Hoon, was summoned tointerrogation in the case of fraud with the native token Bithumb BXA. Amid news of Bithumb's problems with the authorities, media reported that the company had been put up for sale again.

The possibility of acquiring Bithumb was allegedly studied by the cryptocurrency exchange Huobi.

In January 2021, journalistsnamed gaming corporation Nexon Group as a likely buyer of Bithumb. Representatives of the latter denied reports of a possible deal worth 500 billion won (~$457 million).

In the spring, it became known that the South Korean Internet giant Naver entered into negotiations to buy the exchange. At that time, the media reported on at least ten companies claiming a stake in Bithumb.

Previously, the list included one of the largestAmerican banks Morgan Stanley. Potential buyers included Deutsche Bank, JPMorgan, Visa, a subsidiary of the CME exchange, Binance and several other unnamed entities.

Previously, Sam Bankman-Fried promised to spend“billions” to purchase shares in other companies. However, he rejected reports that the Bitcoin exchange is considering acquiring “troubled” cryptocurrency mining firms and is planning a takeover of online broker Robinhood.

Recall that in May 2022, the head of FTX said that the platform's goal is to offer investors a wide range of products, including trading in classic shares.

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