BlockFi CEO Zac Prince has denied rumors that FTX would be acquiring the company for $25 million. Multiple publications said the acquisition deal would be closed by the end of the week.
Prince tweeted that he could “100% confirm” that the wealth management platform was not being sold and to trust only information that comes directly from the company.
Prince was referring to reports by The Block and others that said that FTX was looking to buy BlockFi. The report said that the deal was expected to be finished by the end of the week and cited three sources close to the matter.
There seemed to be some contradictions with regard to the specifics, with some sources saying the deal was valued at $25 million and others saying it was closer to $50 million.
In its last funding round, BlockFi was valued at $4.8 billion. A sale at $25 million would put the company down by 99% of its last private valuation. A CNBC report also said that the deal could take the form of acquiring BlockFi at a later date, and whatever the case, it would take months to close.
BlockFi has had a stressful few months, laying off staff. It has also increased deposit rates and removed free monthly withdrawals.
The lending platform has also faced trouble from regulators. The SEC fined the firm $100 million for offering unregistered securities offerings, which it agreed to pay.
Crypto companies suffer, though some thrive
The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this week that FTX was in talks to acquire a stake in BlockFi, with the former having offered the latter a $250 million credit line. FTX has been targeting various deals, and there have been several rumors abound about acquisitions.
FTX is rumored to be interested in acquiring Robinhood, though CEO Sam Bankman-Fried has denied this. While most companies have been downsizing and dealing with the market crash, FTX seems to be doing just fine.
Crypto lenders and other platforms have been experiencing a difficult few months, with the crypto market crash tanking business operations. The most affected of these have been Celsius Network and Three Arrows Capital, the news of which has reached headlines in the wider business media.
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Source: https://beincrypto.com/blockfi-ceo-dismisses-rumors-company-would-be-sold-for-25m/