FTX collapse hearing: Kevin O’Leary says Binance caused the FTX implosion

• Investor Kevin O’Leary is a hired FTX spokesperson in the ongoing FTX hearing.
• O’Leary has asserted that Binance was behind the collapse of FTX.
• Kevin however told the committee that that was an opinion and didn’t have records.

Kevin O’Leary, a hired FTX spokesperson, on Wednesday told the US Senate Committee hearing on the collapse of FTX that Binance was the cause of the FTX problems.

Kevin told the committee that when he inquired about Sam Bankman-Fried’s usage of customer funds, he was told that more than $3 billion were used in repurchasing the FTX shares that Binance held. When pressed by Senator Patrick Toomey on why FTX failed, Kevin said he only had an opinion but didn’t have the records.

Binance move to sell FTX tokens hurt FTX’s balance sheet

Kevin claimed that Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao’s move to sell the FTX tokens that it held was made to hurt FTX’s balance sheet. In Kevin’s words:

“In my view, my personal opinion, these two […] in an unregulated market […] with this incredible business in terms of growth were at war with each other, and one put the other out of business, intentionally.”

Kevin further added:

“Maybe there is nothing wrong with that, maybe there is nothing wrong with love and war, but Binance is a massive unregulated global monopoly now, and they put FTX out of business.”

Last week on Friday, Changpeng Zhao and Sam Bankman-Fried engaged in a Twitter feud defending the legality of their business empires and former remarks by Kevin O’Leary in a previous interview with CNBC were brought up in the argument.