Galaxy Digital (TSX: GLXY) CEO Mike Novogratz claimed on Thursday morning that El Salvador’s Bitcoin holdings were all on FTX, the troubled crypto exchange firm.
“I read – I don’t know if it’s true – that the El Salvadoran government’s crypto was on FTX, and they’re calling for the extradition of Sam,” Novogratz said in an interview with Joe Kernen on CNBC’s Squawk Box.
If true, this would mean more losses to the country’s Bitcoin gambit led by President Nayib Bukele. Not accounting for possible FTX exposure, it’s estimated that the nation has already lost as much as $300 million on its Bitcoin endeavor.
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But shortly after, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, known as CZ, said that he talked to the El Salvadorian president to confirm Novogratz’s claims and clarified that no, the El Salvadorian government does not have Bitcoin on FTX.
Bukele has spent hundreds of millions of dollars from El Salvador’s debt-ridden Treasury, and since his plan to turn Bitcoin into “FU money” still hasn’t panned out a year into being the first country to turn Bitcoin into legal tender, it’s unlikely that the president will admit it if the country’s crypto holdings were on FTX.
Novogratz, meanwhile, has posted an apology to Bukele for falling for “fake news.”
Galaxy Digital, unlike El Salvador, has about $76.8 million in FTX exposure. The company said on its Q3 financial report on Wednesday that it was in the process of withdrawing $47.5 million of the funds prior to FTX pausing withdrawals.
Information for this briefing was found via the sources mentioned. The author has no securities or affiliations related to this organization. Not a recommendation to buy or sell. Always do additional research and consult a professional before purchasing a security. The author holds no licenses.
