Binance Backs Out of FTX Rescue, Citing Finances, Investigations

Changpeng “CZ” Zhao walked away from his bailout for Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX.com almost as quickly as he offered a rescue.

“Our hope was to be able to support FTX’s customers to provide liquidity, but the issues are beyond our control or ability to help,” Binance, the crypto exchange founded by Zhao, said in a statement.

An FTX spokesperson declined to comment.

It became evident in a matter of hours that rescuing FTX would be a tall order for Binance. Its executives found themselves staring into a financial black hole -- a gap between liabilities and assets at FTX that’s ...