Â鶹ӰÊÓ

Skip to main content

Crypto CEO warns his industry faces 2008-style crisis, calls regulator scrutiny 'a good thing'

An advertisement for Bitcoin cryptocurrency is displayed on a street in Hong Kong, on Feb. 17, 2022. Bitcoin slumped to a two-year low, Wednesday, Nov. 9, and other digital assets sold off following the sudden collapse of crypto exchange FTX Trading, which has been forced to sell itself to larger rival Binance. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File) An advertisement for Bitcoin cryptocurrency is displayed on a street in Hong Kong, on Feb. 17, 2022. Bitcoin slumped to a two-year low, Wednesday, Nov. 9, and other digital assets sold off following the sudden collapse of crypto exchange FTX Trading, which has been forced to sell itself to larger rival Binance. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)
Share

The reeling crypto industry faces a that will lead to a much-needed regulatory crackdown, crypto CEO Changpeng Zhao warned on Friday.

"It's devastating for the industry. A lot of consumer confidence is shaken. We've been set back a few years," Zhao, the CEO of cryptocurrency exchange Binance, said during a conference in Indonesia.

The Binance boss, known as CZ, was speaking amidst the stunning implosion of rival FTX, which just hours later.

"We've just seen another very big player going down," said Zhao, who noted this collapse follows the downfall of Celsius, Voyager, Three Arrows Capital and other crypto firms.

Zhao was a key player in the downfall of FTX. Binance reached a tentative rescue deal with FTX earlier this week, but that transaction almost immediately fell apart, paving the way for Friday's bankruptcy filing and the resignation of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried.

The moderator noted the crypto turmoil feels much like the 2008 global financial crisis, which brought down Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers and other leading Wall Street players.

"That's probably an accurate analogy," Zhao said.

He urged regulators to look beyond just anti-money laundering and know-your-customer (KYC) rules and focus instead on the operations, business models and reserves of exchanges like FTX.

"Regulators, rightfully, will scrutinize this industry much, much harder, which is probably a good thing to be honest," Zhao said. "Short-term, it's very painful for retail investors...We feel that pain. But longer-term, this is another wakeup call to say, 'Look, we are in a new industry. There are a lot of risks and we need to learn how to deal with these risks."

Zhao also detailed his interactions with FTX, saying his firm decided to dump its holdings in FTT -- an illiquid token backed by FTX -- after a CoinDesk report raised questions about the balance sheet of FTX's sister hedge fund.

"This problem wasn't created in the last three days," Zhao said, adding the trouble has been there for much longer.

The Binance CEO accused FTX of "misappropriating" user funds.

Bankman-Fried, the 30-year-old crypto wunderkind behind FTX, said on Friday he's "really sorry" about what happened at his firm.

"I'm piecing together all of the details," Bankman-Fried wrote on Twitter, "but I was shocked to see things unravel the way they did earlier this week."

CTVNews.ca Top Stories

The British Columbia election campaign is set to officially start today, with Lt.-Gov. Janet Austin issuing the writ for the Oct. 19 vote.

A northern Ontario man is facing a $12,000 fine after illegally shooting a moose near the Batchawan River.

Unusual flippered feet are making their way into the Saint Lawrence River this weekend. Led by underwater explorer and filmmaker Nathalie Lasselin, volunteer divers are combing the riverbed near Beauharnois in Montérégie to remove hundreds of tires that have been polluting the aquatic environment for decades.

A sea lion swam free after a rescue team disentangled it near Vancouver Island earlier this week.

Local Spotlight

Cole Haas is more than just an avid fan of the F.W. Johnson Wildcats football team. He's a fixture on the sidelines, a source of encouragement, and a beloved member of the team.

Getting a photograph of a rainbow? Common. Getting a photo of a lightning strike? Rare. Getting a photo of both at the same time? Extremely rare, but it happened to a Manitoba photographer this week.

An anonymous business owner paid off the mortgage for a New Brunswick not-for-profit.

They say a dog is a man’s best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.

A growing group of brides and wedding photographers from across the province say they have been taken for tens of thousands of dollars by a Barrie, Ont. wedding photographer.

Paleontologists from the Royal B.C. Museum have uncovered "a trove of extraordinary fossils" high in the mountains of northern B.C., the museum announced Thursday.

The search for a missing ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey ended with a tragic discovery Wednesday.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is celebrating an important milestone in the organization's history: 50 years since the first women joined the force.

It's been a whirlwind of joyful events for a northern Ontario couple who just welcomed a baby into their family and won the $70 million Lotto Max jackpot last month.

Stay Connected