Crypto is a speculative and volatile industry, and this year has undoubtedly been a frightening one: the $40 billion Terra collapse, the hacking of high-profile and highly profitable crypto exchanges, and the ongoing market-wide decline in value.

Added today is the general decline in the value of cryptocurrencies, with bitcoin now up slightly but having lost about 70% of its value since the same time last year. Other smaller cryptocurrencies (sometimes called "shitcoins") have also plummeted in value.

The reason for this is that a crypto exchange called FTX was flooded with withdrawal requests worth $6 billion in three days, following rumors that it was in poor financial condition. To give an idea of the size of FTX, Reuters estimates that FTX handled $626.69 billion in transactions this year.

The deal was followed by news that FTX's big rival, Binance, would bail out the company "pending due diligence."

Well, Binance has done its due diligence. In a statement, Binance said:

"As a result of our corporate due diligence, as well as the latest reports regarding the mishandling of customer funds and the alleged investigation by US agencies, we have decided not to pursue the possibility of acquiring FTX.com.

As for the investigation by U.S. authorities, Reuters reports that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is investigating FTX's activities, no doubt even more closely than it did a week ago, and that the SEC is "investigating the company's activities in the United States.

To be clear, FTX is not yet bankrupt. But it seems inevitable.

Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of FTX, was once idolized in the crypto world as an entrepreneur and a highly successful trader. Bankman-Fried posted a lengthy thread on Twitter in which he stated, "I screwed up," then blamed many other factors, implying that a mysterious stranger was behind the collapse. He says, "We're doing everything we can to increase liquidity this week," but don't hold your breath.

The FTX website now has a red banner at the top. We strongly recommend that you do not make a deposit."

"Venture capital firm Sequoia Capital has written off its $210 million investment in FTX." Based on our current understanding, we have $0 investment." $210 million, poof, gone.

Finally, let's vindicate the FTX CEO. Sam Bankman Fried said, "I might have more to say about one particular sparring partner. 'But it's a glass house. So for now, let's just say, well done, you win."

This is almost certainly Changpeng "CZ" Zhao, CEO of Binance, whose Coindesk report in early November suggested that FTT, FTX's own crypto token, was misused to inflate the balance sheet of another company, Alameda The report points to the possibility that the FTT was used to inflate the balance sheet of another company, Alameda. To cut a long story short, Zhao announced his intention to sell all of Binance's FTT holdings

due to "recently revealed facts."

He then had a bit of a public spat with Bankman-Fried, and the price of FTTs began to plummet, resulting in a $6 billion withdrawal that brought FTX to its knees. It was at this time, before today's U-turn, that Zao announced that Binance had entered into a non-binding agreement to acquire FTX.

Nonetheless, it seems incredible that the CEO of FTX would blame a market rival for selling FTX's own crypto tokens.

Interestingly, Bankman-Fried apparently reconsidered calling Zhao out immediately after "you won" and wrote (in caps): "Of course, the real joke is on those who trusted the FTX, investors large and small, and the truly volatile aspect of the The real joke, of course, is on those who trusted the FTX, investors large and small, and the broader crypto market, which has taken on a truly volatile aspect after such a year. Whatever its advocates may say about the utopian idea of decentralization, it is clear that speculation and greed are at the true core of cryptocurrencies. There will never be a shortage of fictitious assets, and sadly, there will never be a shortage of people who can be persuaded to buy them, either.

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