Binance CEO CZ Turned Down $40 Million Deal with SBF for Futures Exchange
Binance CEO Changpeng "CZ" Zhao turned down a $40 million offer from former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried in March 2019 to create a cryptocurrency futures exchange.
At the time, Binance was primarily a spot crypto exchange, and the idea of a futures-only platform was a deviation from its existing model.
After careful consideration, Zhao declined Bankman-Fried's offer and instead chose to develop a futures exchange in-house, according to Michael Lewis' book "Going Infinite," which delves into the story of FTX’s spectacular collapse and the enigmatic founder at its center.
Bankman-Fried, undeterred by the rejection, went on to establish the notorious FTX exchange in May 2019.
According to Lewis' book, Bankman-Fried perceived Zhao's decision as "ordinary and vaguely disappointing."
He described Zhao as "kind of a douche but not worse than a douche," expressing his belief that Zhao had the potential to be an intriguing character but fell short of expectations.
Compared to traditional spot exchanges, futures exchanges allow traders to engage in cryptocurrency trading using only a portion of their collateral.
Bankman-Fried had been contemplating the idea of creating a crypto exchange, believing it to be an "obvious opportunity" and a potential "money machine."
However, he faced challenges in getting started, attracting customers, and establishing connections in the crypto space, as he was relatively unknown at the time.
In a previous attempt in 2018, Bankman-Fried collaborated with Alameda Research friend Gary Wang to launch a Bitcoin exchange called CryptonBTC.
However, the platform failed to gain traction due to a lack of promotion and user participation.
Bankman-Fried and a small team subsequently began pitching existing crypto
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