Singapore Government’s Fund Among FTX Investors, Monitoring Developments: Report

Singapore state-backed investor Temasek said it is “engaging FTX in our capacity as a shareholder” following the liquidity crunch at the crypto exchange and the subsequent bailout deal with Binance, which took cryptocurrencies to new lows. Temasek is one of the major investors in FTX, which faces a likely bankruptcy if Binance pulls out from the deal.

FTX Shareholder Temasek on the Lookout Amid Binance-FTX Rescue Deal

Temasek Holdings, a Singapore-based state holding company and investment firm, said it is monitoring the latest developments around the FTX-Binance deal. The firm said it is “aware of the developments between FTX and Binance.”

Temasek is one of FTX’s investors and has participated in multiple crypto exchange’s funding rounds in the past. The investment giant engaged in FTX’s $400 million Series C funding round in January 2022, as well as previous fundraisers including the $900 million Series B and $420 million Series B-1.

Temasek’s remarks followed reports that Binance is buying rival FTX in a rescue deal after the latter saw a major liquidity crunch, with investors withdrawing $6 billion in just 72 hours from the exchange. The reports sent crypto prices to another decline, with Solana (SOL) tumbling nearly 40% in the past 24 hours.

Prior to the takeover announcement, FTX faced pressure after Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao said Binance plans to liquidate its holdings of FTT, FTX’s native token, due to “recent revelations.” The billionaire did not specify what revelations he was alluding to, though it is likely that he was referring to reports that the balance sheet of Alameda Research, a trading firm owned by FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, was inflated by the FTT token.

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Binance U-Turn Would Leave a “Giant Hole” in the Crypto Market, Says Circle CEO

While the deal between Binance and FTX is pending, it represents a nonbinding agreement, which means that Zhao and Binance could drop the deal at any time. This scenario would land another major blow to FTX and would likely tip it into bankruptcy.

Commenting on that matter, Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire said Binance backing out would leave a “giant hole” in the crypto market and make things even worse. The crypto industry has already been going through a tough period as high inflation and tight interest rates continue to reduce the appeal of risk assets.

FTX is just one of numerous Temasek’s crypto and blockchain investments. In August, the investment firm led a $100 million funding round for Animoca Labs, a prominent Web3 and blockchain investor.

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