FTX Hearing: Kevin O’Leary Attacks Binance Calling It An “Unregulated Monopoly”

The discussion surrounding the demise of what was once one of the biggest crypto exchanges in operation has grown courtesy of the Senate Banking Committee hearing on FTX, which is taking place today. While it does not involve any of the FTX employees, four different witnesses are going to testify in front of the panel.

Kevin O’Leary Testifies

Among these witnesses is Kevin O’Leary, from Shark Tank fame and also an investor in FTX. He has also previously been a paid spokesperson for the now-bankrupt crypto exchange.

Although the FTX debacle has left him at a loss, O’Leary still remains a staunch supporter of the blockchain technology and cryptocurrency in general.

Read More: Kevin O’Leary Claims He Can’t Call SBF Guilty Unless He’s Tried

According to O’Leary, he spoke with the FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried after the business declared bankruptcy. He quoted Bankman-Fried as saying that a large portion of the missing money was used to buy back FTX shares from Binance founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhou.

O’Leary Slams Binance

O’Leary said that $2 billion to $3 billion in funds were used to buy shares, emptying the balance sheet of all assets in the process.

Read More: SBF Wanted To Keep SEC Out Of Crypto Regulation

He testified to the senate that,

Binance is a massive unregulated monopoly now. This is my personal opinion.

Furthermore, as per O’Leary — Bankman-Fried had stated that he needed to purchase these shares because CZ was effectively blocking compliance requirements in a number of different locations where the exchange was attempting to gain regulatory approval.

Read More: CEO John J. Ray iii Claims “Embezzlement” Root Cause Of FTX Collapse

According to his testimony, CZ would not comply with the data requirements imposed by a number of different jurisdictions. He was also quoted saying that Binance had intentionally tried to put rival FTX “out of business”.

The troubles at FTX extended much further than just obtaining shares from CZ, as demonstrated by various claims made by prosecutors and by the newly appointed CEO of FTX, John J. Ray III.

However, it seems like Kevin places most or at least some of the responsibility on Binance, which was rivaled by FTX during its heydays.