Solana, FTT Bounce Hard on Binance Buyout — Then Crash Harder

Cryptocurrencies in Bankman-Fried’s orbit were dumping hard until the Binance buyout was announced

article-image

Source: Shutterstock

share

Sam Bankman-Fried’s Twitter account has posted a thread claiming that Binance has bought FTX, the exchange that he had built into a global crypto titan.

FTX’s native token, FTT, is soaring following disclosure of the alleged impending Binance buyout, and has recovered from a low of $14.57 to over $19 — a 36% recovery. FTT went on to crash to below $10, down nearly 60% on the day as of 1:30 pm, ET.

Solana’s native asset, also heavily backed by Bankman-Fried, had recovered 22% from its local low of $24.77 posted earlier today. The token had fallen up to 30% throughout the public feud, which had mostly played out via Twitter. It’s now hovering back around those lows.

SOL and FTT briefly pumped before tanking considerably

Binance founder Changpeng Zhao tweeted about the deal, noting that, “This afternoon, FTX asked for our help.”

“There is a significant liquidity crunch. To protect users, we signed a non-binding LOI, intending to fully acquire FTX.com and help cover the liquidity crunch. We will be conducting a full DD in the coming days,” Zhao said.

Bitcoin and ether are both recovering fast since a precipitous drop on Saturday night — when Zhao declared Binance would soon dump hundreds of millions of dollars in FTX’s native token FTT in response to rumors of Alameda Research’s insolvency.

Despite the neutral name, Alameda Research is Bankman-Fried’s quantitative crypto trading shop, which sometimes doubles as a venture capital firm. 

It’s technically a separate company to crypto exchange FTX, but leaked documents earlier this month suggested the unit maintained considerable exposure to Bankman-Fried-backed tokens FTT and solana.

Alameda CEO Caroline Ellison has said the leaked balance sheet omits some $10 billion in other assets, as well as investment hedges on its long positions cited in the document. 

While crypto markets overall had turned sour since the Binance founder effectively declared war on direct rival Sam Bankman-Fried, cryptocurrencies in the latter’s direct orbit were tanking far worse than the blue chips.

Serum, the native token of the decentralized exchange of the same name co-founded by Bankman-Fried, had lost 9% over the past three days as of 11:15 am ET. Bonfida (FIDA), another token powering Solana’s decentralized market ecosystem, was down 10%. 

Both assets, alongside solana and FTT, were featured in Alameda Research’s leaked balance sheet published last week.

Updated Nov. 8 at 1:18 pm ET.


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

  • Blockworks Daily: The newsletter that helps thousands of investors understand crypto and the markets, by Byron Gilliam.
  • Empire: Start your morning with the top news and analysis to inform your day in crypto.
  • Forward Guidance: Reporting and analysis on the growing intersection of crypto and macroeconomics, policy and finance.
  • 0xResearch: Alpha directly in your inbox. Market highlights, data, degen trade ideas, governance updates, token performance and more.
  • Lightspeed: Built for Solana investors, developers and community members. The latest from one of crypto’s hottest networks.
  • The Drop: For crypto collectors and traders, covering apps, games, memes and more.
  • Supply Shock: Tracking Bitcoin’s rise from internet plaything worth less than a penny to global phenomenon disrupting money as we know it.
Tags

Upcoming Events

Industry City | Brooklyn, NY

TUES - THURS, JUNE 24 - 26, 2025

Permissionless IV serves as the definitive gathering for crypto’s technical founders, developers, and builders to come together and create the future.If you’re ready to shape the future of crypto, Permissionless IV is where it happens.

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

recent research

tg trading bot report graphic.png

Research

Telegram trading bots have found their primary niche in highly speculative token launches and retail-dominated memecoin markets, with many features specifically tailored to token sniping and copy-trading strategies.

article-image

Paradigm’s Charlie Noyes thinks that the attention on stablecoins is well-deserved after Mesh’s $82 million round

article-image

Crypto may benefit from developments during the second quarter after a rough start to the year

article-image

With a friendlier regulatory outlook and the airdrop flow being stemmed, some are looking to how new native tokens can become valuable assets

article-image

The recent action paints an uncertain picture for future monetary policy moves

article-image

Is the finance world becoming “more liquid”? Experts give their takes as TradFi players consider new moves